


The Road to Success

by Stranger_Lumax



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Lucas plays basketball, Max Is Supportive, Some mentions of abuse, based off of my highschool basketball experience and nba 2k, highschool fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 56,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stranger_Lumax/pseuds/Stranger_Lumax
Summary: Tryouts are soon, and Lucas wants nothing more than to play on the team. He’s been away at basketball camp for three weeks, and with Max helping train him there’s no way he can give up now. Will being on a team tear his friendship with the party apart, or will it build something new?
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane & Dustin Henderson & Maxine Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler
Comments: 20
Kudos: 57





	1. Training

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: This story has some things mentioned from my previous story “Judgement Day” but it will most likely totally contradict it. For example they’re sophomores in this story and in the Judgement Day the world is pretty much ending at that time so just don’t think of them as being at the same time. Ok cool

“Do it again.” Max said, looking down at the stopwatch. Lucas looked up at her, bent over and clutching his side. He was sweating, hard, and breathing heavily. 

“Max—” he panted. 

“Lucas do it again.” 

“I asked you to help me train! Not kill me!” He exclaimed, standing up so that he was eye level, well—above eye level, with her, forcing her to look up at him. 

“I  _ am  _ helping you. I’m pushing you because you  _ know  _ nobody else would make you keep going when you’re tired.” He sighed, lacing his hands over the back of his head in an attempt to catch his breath. 

He had sweat straight through his white short sleeve compression shirt, the fabric of the shirt hugging against his torso and arms so that he looked more defined. Max couldn’t believe how much taller, and  _ stronger  _ he’d gotten after he’d come from being away at basketball camp for three weeks just a few days ago, the day before school had started. She still wasn’t used to it and  _ no  _ she would not admit that she’d been a little shocked at how much cuter he was with his hair cut into a flat top fade. 

“How slow was I?” He asked. 

“About two seconds.” 

“What!” 

“You said you wanted to be able to do a suicide in twenty seconds by the time we left. I’m just holding you to it.” He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. 

“I’m not telling you my goals anymore.” 

“So you can just give up if it’s too hard?” She asked. 

He sighed.  _ “No.”  _

“Exactly. I’m  _ helping you.  _ Whether you think so or not, you’re getting better.” 

“You’ve worked me harder in an  _ hour and a half _ than they did a full  _ day _ at camp.” He said with a smile. 

“Good.” She nodded, resetting the stopwatch. “Ready?” 

He bent down into a starting position, his hand positioned on the floor and his feet balanced. He sucked in a slow, deep breath, his eyes locked ahead. One word echoed around his mind, his focus locked in: 

_ Faster.  _

“Go.” He pushed off, reaching the freethrow line and touching it as he sprinted back to Max. He touched the baseline at her feet and sprinted to half court, before spinning around and running back towards her again. 

“Fifteen seconds.” She said as he started to sprint toward the opposite free throw line. 

_ 5 seconds for a half court? Not too bad.  _

He only needed eight at most for a full up and back. It was getting harder to run, but he knew he couldn’t stop. This was already the tenth ladder Max had made him run in the last half hour and he wasn’t gonna do another one. 

“Ten seconds.” She told him when he reached the baseline. He pushed his legs to move, pouring in every last bit of strength he had as he sprinted to the other end of the court. He spun around as he touched the opposite baseline, already sprinting back to where Max was standing. 

“Five...four...three…” he didn’t slow down, passing the end point before she’d even finished counting down. It took him about three extra feet to come to a complete stop, spinning around to face her, gasping for breath. He had a problem of not breathing when he was sprinting. 

“Four seconds faster than last time, nice job.” She said, a bright smile on her face as she high fived him. 

“Thanks.” He panted, returning the gesture and leaning over with his hands braced against his knees. “So I’m good? I’m done? No more running?” 

“No more running.” She agreed. “Ten free throws and we’re done?” He nodded, slowly walking to the freethrow line closest to them, his hands on his waist as he continued trying to catch his breath. 

He wasn’t sure what about being in an empty school, alone in a gym with only Max there to keep him going made him so excited for basketball season. 

Max bounced him the ball, standing under the basketball hoop. He dribbled it three times, focusing on the rim as he shot it. 

He missed. 

It bounced off the back iron and came back to him, falling right into his hands. He groaned, frustrated, bouncing it against the ground as hard as he could. Free throws were supposed to be  _ easy,  _ and so far, he’d only made fifteen or so out of the forty he’d shot.  _ Just today.  _

“Hey.” Max walked over to him, taking the ball from him and cradling it under her arm. “What is it?” 

“These are the easiest shots ever and I  _ can’t make them.  _ I can chuck up a half court and swish it but I can’t make a frickin free throw.” He said angrily. 

“Hey.” Max said, firmer than the first time. “What are you focusing on when you shoot?” 

“The rim.” He deadpanned. 

“No  _ duh _ . Where on the rim are you looking?” His eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You see those things holding the net onto the hoop?” She asked, pointing to the eyelets on the inside of the orange ring. 

“Yeah?” 

“Either aim right over the front ones or just right in front of the back ones. Focus on those instead of the rim as a whole.” He looked back at her skeptically, but took the ball when she held it out to him, forcing himself to focus where Max had told him. 

He dribbled it three times again, letting out a breath and straightening himself out as he stood up, his wrist flicking down so easily he knew it was going in even before he swished it. 

“See?” Max said, gesturing up to the hoop and grabbing the ball on its second bounce. “Told you.”

“How’d you know that?” He asked. 

“My dad. He’s a huge basketball fan. I played with him sometimes and he gave me pointers.” 

“Wait wait wait. Hold up. You can  _ play _ basketball and you’ve been holding out on me?” 

“I’m from California, I can do anything.” She smirked, bouncing him the ball. “Including a lot of things  _ you _ don’t know about.” 

“One on one?” He asked, rolling the ball in his hands. 

“If you make eight of your ten, I’ll play you tomorrow.” He thought about it for a moment. 

“Deal.” 

“Ok deal. Now quit getting distracted.” He huffed out a breath, focusing on the rim again. 

_ Swish  _

_ Swish  _

_ Swish _

The sound echoed through the empty gym as he made one after another, and Max was pleasantly surprised when he had one shot left and had made seven of nine. 

“Hey.” She said, getting his attention right before he shot the ball. He looked up mid bounce, catching it in his hands and stopping his routine. 

“Huh?” 

“What do you do, if you’re down by one with three seconds left, and you’re up for a free throw?” 

“Easy. Make it.” 

“So show me.” 

“What?” His eyes went a little wider when she pointed up at the hoop. 

“Use the one on one game as an in game situation. If you make the freethrow you win the “game” and I’ll play you. If you lose, you get nothing.” 

He swallowed. To be perfectly honest being under pressure messed with him a little bit. 

“Lucas.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Don’t let the pressure get to you. Just imagine there's no one else there. It’s just you, the ball and the hoop. No distractions. Block them out.” He nodded, blowing out a breath as he set his feet up and bent his knees. He dribbled three times, then faced the hoop. 

_ Just in front. Just in front. Just in front.  _ He thought over and over, looking directly where Max had shown him. 

He stood up, releasing the ball. He watched as it soared through the air, bouncing off the back iron and perfectly falling through the hoop, bouncing back towards him. 

“Yes!” He pumped his fist, looking over at Max. He pointed at her. “You. Me. Tomorrow. Three thirty.” 

“Sounds like a date.” She smirked. 

“Whatever.” He laughed, walking over to the chair set up on the sideline. He fell into it, picking up his water bottle and drinking half of it in a matter of seconds. 

“You’re getting better.” Max said, standing in front of him as she pulled her jacket and backpack on. He bounced her the ball. ”I can see it. You’ve improved since the day you got home.” 

“But is it good enough for tryouts?” He asked, taking off his basketball shoes. She shrugged. 

“I haven’t seen anyone else play.” 

“That’s comforting.” He mumbled, slipping his shoes into his duffel bag and pulling out his Converse. 

“You’re a good player Lucas. You’ve just...never played on a real team before. Some people play differently in practice than in real games.” She said, slipping the ball into his duffel bag beside his basketball shoes. 

“Then we keep working.” He said, pulling on his Converse and looking up on her. “Thanks for pushing me.” 

“No problem. And I’m not letting you quit now so don’t even think about it.” 

“Good to know.” 

“How many days until tryouts?” 

“They're at the end of the month so…” his eyes rolled up as he mentally counted the days. “We’ve got...two weeks to practice?” 

“We’ve got some work to do then.” Max told him, folding her arms in front of her chest. “When Nate did tryouts for our seventh grade team they did a lot of free throws and ball handling, maybe we can base it off that?” He nodded, standing up and throwing his backpack over his shoulder, not bothering to put his jacket on. His face was on fire, burning in such a way he knew it was probably red. 

“Are you coming over for dinner?” 

“Do you want me to?” She asked, picking up his duffel bag as the two of them made their way to the gym doors. 

“Yeah.” He answered, because he knew she wouldn’t invite herself over, no matter how much she wanted to. 

“Ok. Then...yeah. I’ll come.” 

“Good.” He smiled, pushing the door open and holding it open for her. 

“Thanks.” She mumbled. It was cold outside, and the sun had already gone down. The worst part about basketball being a winter sport is that you never saw the sun until either the season was over or school was out. 

Luckily Mr Sinclair was already there to pick them up, so they didn’t have to wait long in the cold. The station wagon was parked right in front of the school with the lights on, the engine softly purring as it sat in the empty parking lot. The two of them jogged to the car, Max tossing Lucas’ duffel bag into the backseat before she climbed in after it. Lucas climbed into the front, setting his backpack at his feet. 

“Looks like you’ve been busy.” Mr Sinclair chuckled, gesturing to Lucas’s sweaty shirt. 

“Yeah Max likes to torture me.” He teased, shooting her a look before turning around to pull on his seatbelt. 

“Making him work hard?” The man asked, looking at Max through the rearview mirror. 

“Yep.” 

“That’s my girl.” He said with a laugh, shifting the car into drive and pulling away from the empty school. 

_______________________________________

“What’s the radiant energy of the sun that is transmitted?” Max asked, looking up from the flash card to look over at Lucas, who was laying on the floor across from her, throwing a basketball above his head. She was  _ so _ tempted to hit it out of the air, but knowing her luck she’d probably break something. 

He was wearing regular clothes now, dark gray sweatpants and a navy blue t-shirt that he’d changed into right after he’d showered in record time before dinner while she’d helped Erica with homework.

She wished she could’ve changed out of her school clothes, her jeans and t-shirt not feeling as comfortable as Lucas looked. 

“Uhhhh, short waves?” He answered, tossing the ball in the air. When it hit his hand again it sounded like a baseball hitting the pocket of the mitt. She nodded, confirming the answer and throwing the card at him as she leaned back against his bed. 

“You’re gonna pass this stupid science test, what’s the point in studying if you already know everything?”

“We're doing this for you…” he pointed out, catching the ball and sitting up. His eyebrows raised in amusement when her expression dropped. 

“Well crap.” Lucas was too busy laughing to notice Erica appear in the open doorway. 

“Hey Max, mom says it’s time to go, dad will give you a ride.” 

“Get out of my room.” Lucas said before Max could answer. 

“I’m not  _ in  _ your room.” Erica snapped. 

“Doorway is part of my room, get out.” 

“Ugh whatever.” She grumbled, disappearing back down the hall and down the stairs. Max gave Lucas a look. 

“What?” She reached around the side of his bed, grabbing her backpack and stuffing her study guide, various scattered worksheets and her textbook back into it. It was amazing how much more homework she could get done at the Sinclair’s home instead of her own. 

“What!” Lucas asked again, standing up and tossing the ball onto his bed to block the doorway. 

“Move.” She laughed, shouldering her backpack. 

“Not until you tell me what I did.” He said, folding his arms across his chest defiantly. 

“Or I could just kiss you instead.” She said smugly, taking a step closer to look up at him. 

“What?” His guard dropped enough that she slipped past him into the hallway, and his mouth hung open in offense. 

“Hey! You can’t pull that card and not follow through.” He called after her, jogging to catch up, she’d already made it halfway down the hallway to the stairs. 

“You can’t just—“ 

“I just did.” She pointed out. 

“Wait.” He reached out, grabbing her shoulder to stop her. “Please.” 

“You’re begging?” She laughed. 

“I haven’t seen you in three weeks. I just got home  _ three days ago.” _ He pouted. 

“Acting like a baby gets you nowhere.” 

“Yes it does because you think it’s cute.” 

“No I don’t.” 

“Yes you do.” 

She pretended to think about it. “Yeah, no I don’t.” 

“Maaaaaax.” He whined. 

“I’ll make you a deal—”

“Again?” 

“If you beat me tomorrow—which you won’t—I’ll kiss you, but if  _ I  _ win, you buy me food.” 

“All you ever want is food.” He laughed. 

“Yeah so? Free food, and I don’t have to pay. Win win.” 

“I don’t think you understand how that works.” 

“I understand it enough to know I’m gonna kick your butt.” She retorted playfully, starting to make her way downstairs. 

“In your dreams, Mayfield. And just for the record, you’ll owe me food too. Loser has to pay for both.” 

“Oh we’re on a last name basis now. That’s fine  _ Sinclair.”  _ Lucas winced. 

“You sound like my coach.” 

“I  _ am  _ your coach.” She said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mr Sinclair already pulling on his coat as he stood next to the front door. 

“Are you coming with us, bud?” He asked Lucas, grabbing his car keys off of the hook beside the door. 

“Uh…” he looked quickly to Max for an answer, but she just grabbed her jacket from the rack, pulling on her shoes. “Yeah I guess so.” 

“I can’t wait until I get my license.” Lucas said from the front seat. 

“You’ll be the first one to get it.” His dad pointed out. “All your friends will expect rides from you.” 

“Unless he fails.” Max spoke up, Lucas twisted around in his seat to face her. 

“Why would I fail?” 

“I don’t know. With you, anything could happen.” 

“Oh and you’ll just pass with flying colors?” 

“Zoomer.” She reminded him, a smile spreading on her face when his expression dropped, most likely remembering the time she’d driven Billy’s car. Sure it wasn’t  _ good  _ but at least she’d gotten them all there in one piece. 

Lucas could’ve already had his license, but his parents were making him practice more before the test. She’d been in the car with him  _ once, _ but she’d immediately gotten out when he said: “which one’s the brake again”. She didn’t care that he was kidding. She wasn’t risking it. 

“When’s your birthday again Max?” Mr Sinclair asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. 

“April.” She said, ignoring Lucas mocking her from the front seat. For some reason he liked to make fun of the way she said her birth month. Every. Single. Time. 

He said someone like her didn't seem like the type of person to be born in a month like April. Whatever the heck that meant. She’d learned to ignore his teasing. 

“If Lucas fails I’m next in line to drive.” 

“Do you have to make everything a competition?” Lucas smiled. 

“Have you even  _ met  _ me?” He laughed, turning back around in his seat. 

Mr Sinclair flipped the turn signal, turning onto Cherry Road. Of course the only house with the lights off was hers. 

“Is anyone home?” Lucas asked, peering through the window. 

“Yeah.” She said, though she wasn’t sure if that was true. “Neil goes to bed early for work. My moms probably reading, or something.” The Neil part was true, but her mom usually left the lights on until she got home. She grabbed her backpack and skateboard as the car pulled up to the curb, lurching to a stop. 

“Thanks for the ride.” She said, awkwardly hugging Lucas as best she could from behind the chair with her free arm, he reached up to hold onto her before she pulled away, stepping out of the car into the cold air. 

“See you tomorrow.” Mr. Sinclair said. 

“Yeah. See ya. Bye.” 

“Bye.” Lucas smilied. She shut the door and made her way up the walkway to her house, aware that they were watching just to make sure she could get inside. Sometimes she wished they wouldn’t. She didn’t want to find out what Neil would do if he saw Lucas. 

She pulled the key out of her jacket pocket as she climbed the porch, her fingers fumbling with it because of the cold. She could see her breath even in the darkness, and she already felt her face freezing. 

She unlocked the door, waving back to them as a signal that she was in. Lucas waved back, the car made a wide turn, before disappearing down the road. 

She waited until they were out of sight, then took a deep breath, pushing the door open. The kitchen light was on, but other than that the house was completely dark. Sitting at the kitchen table was...Neil? That was new. Also terrifying with the way his face was half illuminated but also half hidden in the darkness. He looked like something from a horror movie. 

She froze when he looked up from the newspaper that he was for some reason reading at ten o’clock at night  _ when he should’ve been in bed _ . That alone was suspicious, but the fact that he was  _ waiting _ for her made her throat go dry. 

“There you are.” He said, folding up the paper and setting it on the table. 

“Where’s my mom?” She asked automatically, her voice remaining steady even when her fingers were tightening around her skateboard. Never, ever had she even felt comfortable being in the same room as Neil, let alone the same  _ house,  _ much less  _ alone _ with no one else in sight to witness if he lost his cool. 

“Went to bed early.” He said shortly, standing up and making his way over to her. He stopped a few feet short of her, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Where’ve you been going the past few days after school?” His words sent a chill down her spine, the room suddenly feeling ten times colder, but she stood her ground, staring back at him with a blank expression. It was a normal question, but the way he asked her made her feel like she’d committed a crime. 

“Just studying. With my friends.” 

“Studying?” He said skeptically, scoffing. “Max, do you honestly expect me to believe that?” 

“I  _ was.  _ We have a science test tomorrow and I’ve been trying to get caught up.” She snapped. He lunged forward before she could even register it, his hand closing tightly around her wrist. She tried to flinch away on instinct, but his grip only tightened. 

She held on tighter to her skateboard. She could hit him with it if she really had to, but only as a last resort. 

“Watch your tone.” He said it so casually, but his words sounded exactly like Billy had when he’d seen Lucas when he’d picked her up from the arcade: he was in control, she wasn’t. She swallowed, not letting herself pull her gaze away from his. No weakness. 

“I’m not lying.” She insisted. 

“You better not.” He warned, throwing her wrist down. “You know what happens if I find out you’ve been lying to me.” 

She nodded. She knew. She just wished she didn’t. 

“Guess we’ll see what your test score says.” She didn’t respond, glaring back at him. 

He spun around, leaving her alone in darkness as he flicked off the kitchen light. 

“Night  _ Maxine _ .” She grit her teeth, forcing herself not to answer, not to give him the reaction he wanted. He was pestering her just so he’d have a reason to ‘discipline’ her the second she stepped out of line. She didn’t answer, didn’t even  _ move _ until she heard his bedroom door close. 

The click of the door locking finally allowed her to let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, immediately trying to suck in more air. She felt like she was suffocating,  _ in her own house.  _ She never felt that way at Lucas’. 

Her feet felt like she was wearing bricks instead of shoes, but she forced herself to move, locking the front door before carefully picking her way through the darkness to his room. 

She wasn’t scared of  _ Neil, _ she was scared of what he could get away with. She wasn’t stupid, she knew his discipline wasn’t really discipline, it was  _ punishment.  _ Punishment for coming home and leaving Billy dead in the mall, for even surviving the ‘fire’, for simply  _ existing.  _

Billy had known that too, that Neil’s anger that was taken out on him was because of his mom leaving, but he’d taken it. If he'd lasted  _ eighteen _ years she could survive until she moved out. Two and a half years. Then she was gone. She’d never see him again. 

She didn’t know if that meant she would leave Hawkins forever, leave  _ Lucas, _ but she didn't want to figure it out right now. It would happen when it happened, and she’d deal with it then. 

As quietly as possible, she passed her parents bedroom, careful to avoid the creaky floorboards. Her bedroom was all the way at the end of the hall, and on nights like this, when Neil just decided to ruin her perfect day of hanging out with Lucas, just because he could, the walk felt particularly longer. 

She quickly changed into a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized t-shirt as soon as she’d shut the door, only opening it again when she crossed the hall to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. When she finally sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her alarm clock she realized it was only ten-thirty, and she wasn't even tired. 

She glanced around her room for something to distract her for a while, her gaze landing on her comic books, then her skateboard, and finally her walkie talkie. She’d already read all her comics on nights she physically couldn’t fall asleep, and it was too late and too cold to skateboard, so that left only one option. 

She reached for the walkie, settling back against the pillows as she pressed the button. 

“Lucas. Do you copy? Over.” 

His reply was almost instant. “Hey. I copy. Over.” 

“Thanks for the help today.” She didn’t say over, because she knew she’d have to say it a million times.

“No problem. Think you understand it all now? Over.” She scoffed.  _ No.  _

“Hopefully. Neil thinks I’m lying about studying though.” She nervously glanced at the door, as if the monster just a few rooms down would barge in any second at just the mention of his name, demanding to know who she was talking to. 

“Oh, shoot, really? What’d he say?” 

“He said I better not be lying and he’d find out by seeing my test grade.” 

“That’s...not really fair.” Lucas pointed out, as if it wasn’t already obvious. “Some people can’t take tests very well.” 

“Yeah. I know, I’m one of those people, remember?” She laid back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. 

“You’ll do fine. You know the answers.” She smiled. He always was so supportive, even if she didn’t believe in herself she knew Lucas did. 

“Yeah well, I better go to sleep so I can  _ actually _ remember them.” 

“Ok. Meet here tomorrow morning?” 

“I always do.” She laughed. “Two months and nothing’s changed.”

“Yeah, I know I just wanna talk to you.” 

“You’re such a lovesick puppy.” She teased. She could practically  _ feel  _ him blushing through the walkie, maybe it was just her own face getting hot. 

“Sleeping sounds good.” Lucas said awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Guess you’re right about going to sleep...over.” 

“Awww Lukey’s embarrassed.” 

“Am not! And don’t call me that!” 

“Whatever. Goodnight Stalker. Over.” 

“Night MadMax.” He chuckled. “Over and out.” 

She pushed the antenna down, setting the radio back down on her dresser. It was only just barely ten forty now. She still didn’t feel tired, but she didn’t really have any other option. Neil lost his mind if she was out of her room for any reason other than the bathroom after ten. 

She turned off her lamp and climbed under the blankets, staring up at the ceiling as she let her mind wander, thinking of anything and everything that would make her fall asleep faster. She even tried to imagine her math teacher lecturing them, but just thinking about the big math words he used was too much effort. 

She rolled to her side, her gaze landing on a picture of the party she had sitting framed on her nightstand. They all had the same one, Jonathan had offered to take school pictures a few days before Will and El had to go back home a few weeks before Lucas had left. She had others he’d given her, but the one with all of them was her favorite. 

They were all wearing their new school clothes, each in their own styles. Somehow they’d managed to find a good location, and the six of them were sitting on a wooden fence, various colors of fall leaves covering the trees behind them, which were just barely starting to fall as it changed from summer to autumn. They all had their arms around each other’s shoulders, making a chain down the fence. Mike and Lucas were on the outside, with El and Max beside the two of them, and Will and Dustin squished in the middle. 

It looked like a photo that would be used as an example in the picture frames you bought at the store, and she was secretly impressed with them all for looking  _ that _ good. 

She’d been wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans and a gradient gray to black zip up, with a white t-shirt underneath. Her pure black converse tied the outfit all together, but Lucas’s outfit was her favorite out of all of them, although she wouldn’t admit it. 

And maybe it was because he was her boyfriend and she saw him differently than everyone else, but he was wearing simple tan pants and a red and black checkered flannel with black slip on shoes and he’d never looked more handsome. His hair wasn’t even cut into a flat top yet, but it was still longer than his normal haircut and it looked perfect matched with his smile. She actually loved how stylish he was, which was also something she wasn’t going to mention to him. 

She didn’t need to make his ego bigger than it already was. 

Suddenly five words popped into her mind, and she smiled. 

_ “You. Me. Tomorrow. Three thirty.”  _

She was going to absolutely  _ crush _ him tomorrow. There was  _ no question.  _ Well actually...there was a question because he’d been practicing and she’d been watching, but she was going into this confident. She  _ wouldn’t _ let him beat her. 

Absolutely not. She needed curly fries and a chocolate shake. She’d literally been thinking about it for days and that wasn’t an exaggeration. 

Different scenarios started to play out in her head as she closed her eyes, pulling her deeper into unconsciousness, imagining dunking on Lucas so bad he was forced to buy her food for the rest of the year. 

She fell asleep with a smile on her face. 


	2. One v one

Max woke up to her alarm blaring in such an annoying way she almost threw it across the room. Instead, she restrained herself, smacking the snooze button so hard her palm started throbbing, but she ignored the pain and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head to block out the sunlight now streaming in through her curtains. 

“Max? Do you copy? Over.” A voice said almost exactly ten seconds later. She groaned, rolling over to grab her radio off her nightstand. 

“I copy.” She croaked, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stay awake long enough to talk to Lucas. 

“You hit snooze.” 

“How’d you know?” 

“I’ve met you? Get up.” 

“You’re worse than my mom.” She grumbled, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. 

“Hey. At least I’m looking out for you. You can’t have any more tardies.” 

“Those are  _ your _ fault.” She pointed out. _ “You _ made sure  _ I _ couldn’t get in the classroom by standing in the doorway.” 

“Whatever.” He said quickly, brushing her complaint away. “Mom’s making blueberry pancakes so if you hurry I’ll save you some.” 

“You’d better.” She mumbled, swinging her legs out of bed. “I’m gonna get ready. See ya soon.” 

“Ok bye.” His line clicked off, and she groaned again, forcing herself out of the warm blankets, flinching back when the wooden floor felt ice cold against her feet. 

She just sat there for a moment on her bed, totally zoning out and staring at the wall for who knows how long until: 

_ “You. Me. Tomorrow. Three thirty.”  _

Suddenly her eyes widened, and she woke up a little more, immediately moving to her closet to grab a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt and a navy blue hoodie. She tossed them on her bed, then dug through her closet to find a pair of shorts, which were of course buried in the back because  _ who wears shorts in winter?  _

Finally she found a pair of old school shorts she’d stolen from PE last year, dark green with a white decal tiger printed on the left side. They were probably too small , but it didn’t matter. 

She quickly changed into her school clothes, brushing her teeth and running a brush through her hair before tying it up in the messiest pony tail she’d ever done, which annoyed her so much she redid it. 

She moved from the bathroom back to her room, shoving the shorts into her backpack and grabbing her skateboard.

She couldn’t even use it outside much because it was starting to become winter, but sometimes she used it in the gym when she and Lucas were practicing after school. She’d just gotten so used to carrying it around everywhere that the idea of leaving it home in danger of Neil was just completely out of the question. 

“Goodmorni—hey where are you going?” Her mom asked, stopping her rush out the doorway. 

“School?” She said. Her mom checked her watch. 

“School starts at 8:30. Why’re you leaving so early?” 

“I’m meeting my friends and we’re heading over to the school. We have some test to study for before class starts.” She said quickly, spewing out the first excuse she thought of. 

“Oh...well, don’t you want some breakfast?” 

“I’m good. Thanks.” She said quickly, rushing out the door before her mom could question her anymore. 

Riding her skateboard over to Lucas’s house in the morning was getting colder and colder everyday. She was starting to take Lucas seriously when he said he wished he had his license. Hopefully he got it soon, and  _ not  _ fail like she’d been teasing him, it would benefit him as much as her. 

She shivered, pulling her coat further around her as her hair whipped her in the face, the cold air stinging her nose and ears as the ground moved quickly underneath her board. It was always worth it though, because if she’d been walking instead it would’ve taken twice as long, and she would’ve been twice as cold. 

When she finally turned into the long driveway of the Sinclair’s house she’d jumped off her board before it had even finished moving, stooping it up in one fluid motion as she jumped up the steps. 

She didn’t bother to knock, because after so many mornings of Lucas having to open the door he’d gotten sick of it, and he’d told her just to start walking in. 

She pushed the door open, leaving her coat and shoes on and dropping her board and backpack against the couch, before making her way to the kitchen. No one acted surprised when she appeared in the entryway, and she’d never really thought about it until now. 

They knew and  _ expected  _ her to be here. That’s why there was suddenly an extra chair at the table one day, and why it hadn’t left. That’s why, when she opened the front door Mrs Sinclair called out good morning to her from the kitchen, even though she hadn’t seen her yet. That’s why when Lucas looked up at her at his mother's voice, seeing her hair windblown and cheeks all red he didn’t wonder why she was there, he just smiled, gesturing for her to come sit down. 

She sat down in the chair between him and Erica’s empty spot, and he slid her a plate stacked with pancakes. She took two, dropping them onto the plate in front of her. 

“Can you pass the—” Lucas slid over the butter tray before she’d even finished, and she looked at him skeptically. 

“You ask every time.” He laughed. 

“Yeah well...don’t think being considerate is going to win you the game.” She teased, grabbing her knife and spreading butter onto her pancakes. 

“Oh I don’t have to be considerate to win. In fact…” he grabbed her plate, pulling it away from her so that she was only left holding a butter covered knife. 

She reached for it, but he slid it just out of reach, taking another bite of his own food. 

“Give it back.” 

“Should I?” 

“Lucas Charles Sinclair so help me, I will stab you with this butter knife if you don’t give me my food back.” 

“Sheesh.” He laughed, but slid her the plate. Clearly he didn’t trust if she was kidding or not. Which was fine with her. She kinda wasn’t, but she’d never shank him with a butter knife from his own house. 

“It’s not fair you don’t have a middle name.” Lucas said after a moment, waiting until she’d taken a bite. “I can’t middle name you like you do to me.” 

“Exactly.” She said, reaching over to take a drink of his orange juice. His mouth fell open as he stared at her. 

“Maxine Mayfield that is  _ my  _ juice!” 

“Well I guess you kinda can.” She laughed, putting it back. He pushed it away. 

“You can have it, I wanted chocolate milk anyway.” She shrugged, taking another drink. Fine by her. 

He stood up and opened the fridge, pulling out the carton and a new cup from the cupboard. He flicked off the cap onto the counter and poured the milk into his cup, holding it higher than necessary. 

“You’re gonna spill.” 

“I  _ am not  _ gonna spill.” He said, pulling the carton back and putting the lid back on. “See?” He said, holding his arms out and bowing in such an over dramatic way she felt a smile involuntary spreading on her face. 

“You’re such a dork.” She scoffed, shaking her head and turning back to her food. Lucas wadded up the tinfoil that had been laid over the tray of bacon, crumbling it into a ball and throwing it at her. It hit her arm, flying off the table, and onto the floor. She looked up at him. 

“Don’t even.” 

“Max isn't in the mood to throw something at me?” He said in fake surprise. “That’s new.” He started to take a drink of his chocolate milk, but she picked up the tinfoil ball off the floor and threw it at him, hitting him in the head and surprising him so much he spit it out into the counter. 

“Max!” 

“You wanted me to.” She laughed as he pulled a couple paper towels off the roll and wiped up the mess. 

“Since when have you  _ listened  _ to me.” 

“I always  _ listen,  _ I just don’t do what you say.” 

“Lucas, Max, you guys almost ready to go?” Mr Sinclair asked, poking his head into the kitchen. He was already dressed in his work clothes, his windbreaker pulled on over the top. “I’ve got to be at work a little earlier today.” 

Lucas finished wiping up his mess and chugged his entire cup of chocolate milk before he answered. 

“I am.” He said, looking over at Max as he put the carton back in the fridge. “You?” 

“Uh.” She looked down at her half eaten pancake. “Almost.” Lucas reached across the counter, ripping a couple paper towels off the role and handing them to her. 

“Just eat it on the way there.” She nodded, wrapping up her breakfast and following Lucas out the front door, grabbing her backpack but leaving her skateboard propped up against the couch. She’d be back after school, and she couldn’t use it later anyways, she’d be too busy beating Lucas at his own game. 

“Bye Lucas.” Mrs Sinclair said, intercepting their path and hugging him before he could leave. 

“Bye mom.” He mumbled against her. She released him, moving to Max. 

“Have a good day, sweetie.” She said, hugging her the same way as Lucas. 

“You too.” She replied. The woman straightened out and kissed her husband goodbye, and Max smiled. She remembered when her parents were like that. Now she had  _ Neil.  _

“Tell Erica I said goodbye, she rushed out before I could catch her.” Lucas’ mom told him. He nodded, tugging on Max’s arm to get her to keep walking. 

“Lets go.” 

The two of them followed Mr Sinclair outside and climbed into the car, this time Lucas climbing in the back with her, Erica already in the front seat. 

“Finally. What took you guys so long?” The younger girl said, turning around in her seat to face them. 

“Mom says don’t bother coming home after school. ” Lucas said as he pulled on his seatbelt, choosing to ignore the question. Max smacked him in the arm, and Erica rolled her eyes. 

“You’re such an idiot.” 

“You’re a brat.” 

“And you two don’t need to fight first thing in the morning, you know.” Mr Sinclair said as he climbed into the driver's seat. 

“We’re not fighting.” Lucas said, Erica surprisingly agreeing with him. “We just have a sibling rivalry.” 

“Oh. It’s not a rivalry. Rivalries go both ways, your comebacks are too weak for this to go both ways.” Erica said, turning around in her seat as her dad pulled out of the driveway. 

“My comebacks are not weak!” 

“Oh really? Last night I said you were too busy staring at Max to pay attention and you said ‘no you’.” Lucas’ face turned red. 

“I was busy.” 

“Staring at Max?” 

“Doing my homework!” Max stifled a laugh, turning to look out the window before Lucas could notice, but of course he did. 

“You’re supposed to be backing me up, by the way.” 

“Hey, I can’t fight your battles for you.” She said holding her hands up. “You’ve gotta beat the little twelve year old girl on your own.” 

“I’m not little!” Erica objected from the front seat. 

“Oop. Bad move.” Mr Sinclair teased, glancing at Max through the rear view mirror. “You’re stuck in it now.” She took a bite of her pancake to keep herself busy. 

The two siblings argued for about ten more minutes, both occasionally questioning Max’s loyalty to them in the argument, until Mr Sinclair pulled into the middle school parking lot and had to interrupt them to tell Erica her mom would pick her up from school. 

“Ok. Thanks for the ride, dad. See you later Max, bye loser.” 

“This loser has a name!” Lucas called back, the door already closing halfway through his sentence. 

“This loser has a name?” Max asked, a smile creeping on her face as she turned to him. 

“My mind went blank, ok? Not a good start today.” He mumbled, his face turning red again. 

“I have to admit.” His dad said, putting the car in park as he pulled in front of the high school, just on the other side of the parking lot. “Not your best work.” 

“I got that. Sheesh!” Lucas said defensively, grabbing his backpack and duffel bag and pushing the door on his side open. His dad laughed, saying goodbye to the two of them before shifting the car into drive and disappearing down the road. 

“I hate high school.” Max said, walking in the school through the open door Lucas was holding. The hallway was crowded with teenagers, some staring at the two of them as they walked in, as if anyone that walked through that door wasn’t supposed to be there. 

“Welcome to the club.” Lucas said, falling into step beside her as they made their way down the crowded hallway toward their lockers. “At least you don’t have to deal with  _ Troy.”  _

As if on cue, Lucas was shoved from behind, stumbling a few feet but managing to catch himself with some help from Max grabbing his arm. “Did I hear my name?” Troy sneered, his posse of  _ one  _ standing behind him. 

“Yeah. You said his name.” James replied stupidly. 

“Congratulations you can state the obvious.” Lucas growled, standing up straight and fixing his backpack. 

“Don’t play smart, Sinclair. I heard you’re trying out for basketball.” 

“Once again, stating the obvious.” 

“You really think you have a chance?” The bully laughed. “I’ve got the coach wrapped around my finger.” 

“Which one? This one?” Lucas asked, casually flipping Troy the bird. Max felt a smile involuntarily spread on her face.  _ That  _ was a good comeback. The boy’s smirk fell, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. For a bully he wasn’t very good at keeping his composure. 

“We’ll see who the better player is at tryouts.” 

“You’re trying out?” Max couldn’t help but laugh. “The last time I saw you try to do anything  _ remotely athletic  _ you ended up ripping your pants and being covered in mud.” 

“Oh and your  _ boyfriend _ here is any better?” James asked, using as much emphasis as he could on that one word, as if it would offend her. He instantly received a glare from Troy, probably for speaking without permission. 

“Yeah, actually.” Max said simply, folding her arms across her chest, speaking to Troy instead of James. “He can run without tripping on his own feet so he’s already one step ahead of you.” 

“You’ll  _ regret _ ever dating him, Mayfeild.” Troy seethed, taking a step closer. His face was so red that she could practically see the smoke pouring out of his ears like a cartoon character, but Max didn’t step down, holding her ground. “I promise you.” 

“And you’ll regret even looking her in the eye.” Lucas spoke up, moving to stand beside her. “She’d tear you apart.” 

“We’ll see about that.” Troy said, his voice getting drowned out by the bell. “Watch your back Sinclair.” 

“Even if I did I’d just look right over your head.” Lucas’ said, measuring from his head and straight over Troy’s, the comment seemed to be the tipping point, Troy lunging straight for him, but Lucas simply sidestepped, sending the boy flying past him and tripping on his own feet, sprawling out on the linoleum floor. A couple passing kids stifled laughs, a few senior girls giggling as they passed him. 

“You’re dead Sinclair!” Troy said, getting to his feet in record time. 

“Mr. Walsh.” A voice cut through the hallway, and the boy froze as the crowd parted to reveal the principal: a tall, darked skinned man that couldn’t have been older than thirty. He wore a dark suit and a red tie, with a pair of plain black Nike shoes. 

“My office. Now.” 

“He tripped me!” 

“No. Mr Sinclair did not trip you. You tripped yourself, in fact. My office. Now.” The bully pushed himself up from the floor, purposely bumping into Lucas as he did so. 

“The rest of you get to class. The bell already rang.” The crowd scattered, and the man turned to the two of them. Lucas swallowed. 

“I look forward to seeing you at tryouts, son.” The man, patting him on the shoulder as he followed the sulking Troy down the hall. Lucas turned to look at Max, his eyes slightly wider. 

“No way.” 

“What?” 

“The varsity coach knows who I am.” 

“I can’t believe the varsity coach knows who I am.” Lucas said for the millionth time as he and Max walked to their third hour. 

“Lucas. Would you stop being such a fangirl. He’s just a person. Besides, he’s the principal, he literally knows everybody.” Max groaned, throwing her head back in annoyance.

“Yeah, a person that coaches basketball and knows who I am.” He said, clearly not hearing the last half of her statement. She rolled her eyes, following him into their science class and taking their seats at their lab table next to Dustin and Mike. 

“Guys guess what.” Lucas said instantly. Max laid her head on the table. 

“Lucas.” She warned. 

“The varsity coach knows who you are?” The two boys said at once. Lucas looked surprised, also a little scared, but when he glanced at Max she looked up at him with an expression that said ‘exactly’. 

“Wait. How did you know that?” 

“We're in your first hour, genius. You wouldn’t shut up about it.” Mike said, grabbing his notebook out of his backpack and tossing it onto the table a little more aggressively than usual. 

“Whoa. What’s up with you?” Max asked. 

“None of your business.” He grumbled, pulling out a pen and starting to copy down the bell work. 

“El didn’t answer last night?” 

“I said it’s none of your business, Max!” He snapped. 

“Wheeler, is there a problem?” Their teacher called from his desk at the front of the room, which he didn’t fit into because he was unusually fat for a science teacher. The class went silent. 

“No sir.” Mike said, gritting his teeth in embarrassment. 

“Good. Then I suggest you continue with your bellwork before I pass out your test.” A couple kids giggled, whispering as they glanced over at their table, but they were used to it. The four of them were the nerds (technically excluding Max because she knew  _ jack _ about science) but they’d learned not to care anymore. 

They’d heard that once you got to high school being popular or not didn’t matter anymore, but some kids obviously hadn’t grown out of their full-of-themselves phases. They huddled together, solving the problem on the board and ignoring everyone else. 

It wasn’t hard. 

“Put everything away.” Their teacher announced, standing up and picking of a stack of papers that looked entirely too big to be just a test for twenty kids. Max shoved her notebook into her backpack, grabbing one of the packets that the teacher had tossed onto the middle of their table as he walked past. She glanced at Lucas, secretly nervous, and he smiled. 

No one else knew Neil’s threat, but Lucas seemed to have full confidence in her, no one  _ needed  _ to know. 

He leaned over, pulling her test closer to him as he scribbled something in the corner, then slid it back across the table to her. She looked down, smiling when she saw what he’d written in his messy but also unusually clean handwriting: 

_ You’ve got this :)  _

She grabbed his paper, quickly scribbling a response as the teacher finished handing out the tests. 

_ You’re such a sap _

He smiled, quickly erasing it as the teacher walked by their table again and back toward the front of the class, but she left his message for now. Mike and Dustin exchanged silent gags at the two of them writing notes and smiling at each other. 

“You will have the rest of the class period.” Their teacher said, falling back into his chair and pulling his baseball cap over his face. “Begin.” 

_____________________________________

“Well I failed.” Max said as she and Lucas made their way to their lockers. 

“You didn’t fail.” 

“I failed.” She insisted. “Trust me.” She spun out her combination and pulled her locker open, carelessly tossing her science textbook onto the shelf and shutting the door harder than usual. 

Lucas glanced at her behind his own locker door, trying to decipher how long he should wait until he talked to her. She seemed pretty pissed and the last thing he needed was her hating him right now. She’d make him run extra before they played, and he didn’t want that. 

He set his own textbook on the shelf, trading it for his history books and slipping them into his backpack as he closed the door. He threw his backpack over his shoulder as the two of them wordlessly walked to the lunch room, spotting Mike and Dustin already at their table as they got in line. 

“Meatloaf? Again?” He groaned once they got close enough to see. 

“That’s the third time this week.” Max grumbled. “And it’s Thursday.” She reached for a tray and handed it back to him before grabbing her own. 

“Thanks.” He said, grabbing a plastic fork and a chocolate milk, handing Max a water. He’d agreed with his parents not to have home lunch until his mom went shopping this next weekend, and he was really regretting it. 

They grudgingly stepped up to the counter as the lunch ladies spooned what looked more like sloppy joes than meatloaf onto their plates, not caring when it splattered all over the rest of the tray, the counter, and almost them if they hadn't stepped back. 

As they went down the line Lucas started to notice more. One, he was pretty sure broccoli wasn’t supposed to be that color, and two, who gave out cheese sticks and fruit leather with runny meatloaf. 

“Have a good day.” One of the lunch ladies grumbled in a monotone, as if they’d rather be anywhere but a highschool in the middle of Indiana. 

“You too.” Lucas said, a hint of disgust in his tone as they trudged to their table, dropping down on either sides of the table beside Mike and Dustin. 

“That looks...absolutely disgusting.” Mike grimaced, casually scooting his sack lunch closer to him. “I thought today was meatloaf.” 

“It  _ is.”  _ Max said, picking up a chunk with her spoon, only to have it run off as easily as water right back onto her tray. 

“I’m gonna be sick.” Dustin said. 

“Yeah, well, think how much worse it’ll be if we  _ eat  _ it.” Lucas said, pushing his tray away. “I’d rather starve.” 

“Me too.” Max agreed, pushing hers further down the table. 

“You gonna eat the fruit leather?” Dustin asked. They both took theirs off their trays and tossed it to him. 

“You want the cheese too?” Max asked. 

“Are you kidding? I’m pretty sure string cheese isn’t supposed to  _ melt.”  _

“You could go to the vending machine.” Mike reminded them. “I think I saw them restock it this morning.” The two of them glanced at each other, silently agreeing and standing up simultaneously, making their way down the hallway. 

The vending machine wasn’t a very good one, but it was brand new. It didn’t have very much junk food, but a few bags of pretzels or peanuts were better than runny meatloaf. 

“What do you want?” Lucas asked, counting their pooled money in his palm. Nine quarters. Two dollars and twenty five cents. That was all they had for lunch. 

“Nutter Butter.” She said, watching as he put three quarters into the slot and punched in B4. “And you’re getting Chex mix I’m guessing.” 

“Obviously what else?” He scoffed, inserting four more quarters and grabbing both of their bags from the bottom. 

“Here ya go.” He said, holding it out to her. Suddenly Troy was there, running straight between the two of them and snatching the bag from Lucas, waving it around like a prize. 

The hallway was unusually empty, and Lucas figured Troy probably thought with no one around now was the perfect time for revenge, he also wondered how he’d been  _ that  _ quiet. The bully was so clumsy you could usually  _ hear  _ him when he entered a room, so the fact that he’d managed to sneak up on them in an empty hallway didn’t sit very well with him. . 

“Oh you bought me a snack? Thank you. You know lunch is terrible today.” Troy said innocently, not that it sounded even remotely genuine. 

“Give it back.” Lucas growled, glaring at the boy with an annoyed expression. 

“No, I don’t think I will.” Troy said, pretending to think about it. Which was surprising because Lucas wasn’t even 100% sure he could even physically  _ use _ his brain. 

“What’re you gonna do about it, Sinclair?” He asked, egging Lucas’ anger on. “You gonna fight me for a bag of cookies?” 

“I’d gladly knock the living daylights out of you for free.” Lucas growled. 

“Careful there, don’t wanna ruin your reputation with Coach Jones.” Troy pushed, moving like he was going to open the bag. “How disappointing would it be if his “star” is in detention the day of tryouts.” Lucas set his jaw, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Max put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. 

“Don’t.” 

“Ooooh she’s getting smarter.” Troy mocked, pointing at Max with the bag. “Knows you won’t win the fight.” 

“Oh no, I  _ know _ he’ll win, I just  _ also  _ know you’re not worth his time.” She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. The boys' glare deepened. 

“I’ll take  _ that.”  _ Dustin said, swiping the bag from behind Troy as he and Mike made their way towards the two of them. The bully desperately reached out for the bag, but Dustin held it an arm length away. 

“Heads up.” He tossed the bag to Lucas, who snatched it out of the air with one hand, handing it over to Max all-the-while keeping his gaze locked on Troy. 

Maybe he imagined it, but the bully seemed to shrink under his glare just a little, before pulling his gaze away from his completely and trudging down the opposite end of the hall, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“Let’s go.” Lucas grumbled, opening his bag of Chex and starting to walk down the opposite end of the hall. 

“Two attacks in one day. Even that’s unusual for Troy.” Mike said. 

“Yeah seriously what’s up with him?” Dustin agreed, glancing at the bully over his shoulder. 

“You heard him.” Lucas said, taking a piece of cereal out of his bag and popping it into his mouth. “He’s trying to get me to react, so I’ll be in detention for tryouts.” 

“He knows he won’t make the team if Lucas is there.” Max spoke up. 

“Troy is trying out?” Mike laughed. 

“My reaction exactly.” 

“But  _ why? _ He sucks at basketball...or anything that involves physical activity really.” 

“Maybe he thinks it’ll give him some type of status or something.” She said, opening her bag of Nutter Butters. “I have no idea.” 

They walked wordlessly, their feet automatically carrying them to a specific place in the school, where they somehow always managed to end up at by the end of lunch. It was in a deserted hallway, which they were fine with. They never had to worry that anyone would find them, or steal the spot. 

Lucas fell back against the wall and slid to the ground, his attention fully focused on his food, trying to find a specific thing as he lowered himself to the floor. Max sat next to him against the wall, and Mike and Dustin sat in front of them, their backs to the empty hallway. 

“Dude,  _ what  _ are you looking for?” Max asked, leaning over to peer into Lucas’s bag. 

“There was a breadstick. I saw it, and now I can’t—find it.” He tipped the bag sideways, holding it eye level and shaking it slightly so that he could see the contents. 

“Just eat it until you find it.” 

“You have to eat it in  _ order _ Max.” He said.

“Obviously.” Dustin mocked. Max and Mike laughed. 

“Hey, make fun all you want but it tastes better when you eat the pretzels last.” Lucas mumbled, still concentrated on his task. 

“Ah-ha!” He pulled the small breadstick out, holding it between his fingers. Max reached over and took it, popping it into her mouth before he could react. 

“Max!” 

“Sorry. I’ll give you one of these.” She laughed, holding her open bag toward him. 

“I don’t want one.” He pouted, folding his arms across his chest. 

“I’ll take it.” Mike offered, grabbing one when she offered him the bag. 

“You just gave me a bigger reason to destroy you later.” Lucas mumbled. Dustin and Mike stared at him concerned, sharing a look. 

“Destroy her? Dude that’s a little extreme.” Dustin said, raising an eyebrow. 

“We’re playing one on one.” Max clarified, receiving an “ohhhhhhh” from the two boys as Lucas continued to pout, shielding his bag from her with his hand. 

“You’re evil.” He muttered. 

“I told you that you could have one.” She said, offering him the bag again. 

“I’m allergic to peanut butter.” 

“No you’re not!” 

“Yeah, well, when it’s in a Nutter Butter, yes I am, because those things are  _ nasty.”  _

“Whatever.” 

The bell rang, and the four stood up, splitting off to their next classes, Dustin and Max going one way and Lucas and Mike the other. 

“See ya Max.” Dustin said, waving to her when she took the door to her health class, watching Dustin go a few doors down to his English class. 

She waved back, walking into the health room. 

It was the only class she had that was a bunch of freshmen. Only one other kid was a sophomore with her, Jake Riley, but they’d never talked before other than conversations in class. He’d been a star guard on the varsity basketball team since last year as a  _ freshman. _ Before that he’d been on JV since the seventh grade. He was amazingly athletic, and Max wondered if it was genetic. 

He was averagely tall for a boy their age, lean and well defined. He always wore T-shirts and jeans, with a leather beaded necklace, like the surfer boys in California. He had short wavy brown hair, shaved on the sides and longer on the top, always gelled so that it was swooped to the side at the front. He was one of those boys that looked good without trying. He wasn’t Max’s type but she wasn’t  _ blind.  _ He was a good looking dude. 

“Hey Jake.” She said, moving to sit in her assigned seat behind him. 

“Hey Max.” He said, smiling as he looked up from his bell work. “How’re you?” 

“I’m good.” She said, pulling out her notebook and looking up at where he was leaning with one arm on the back of his chair, turned to look at her. “What about you?” 

“I’m good, a little tired.” 

She scoffed. “Tell me about it.” He laughed, glancing at the teacher before turning to face her almost completely, his feet in the aisle between the desks. 

“So, I heard your...boyfriend, I think he’s your boyfriend. Lucas Sinclair?” She nodded. “He’s trying out for basketball this year?” 

“Yeah he is.” She said, surprised to know how fast the word was spreading. 

“Has he ever played before, I don’t think I’ve seen him at tryouts?” 

“No this is his first year. He suddenly got really interested and went to a three week camp over the summer. He’s been super committed since like July. I don’t know where it came from.” 

“I heard he’s pretty good.” 

“Yeah he’s pretty decent considering he’s never played before.” 

“I’ll look out for him then.” He smiled, turning back around in his chair to finish his bell work. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable talking to Jake, but it was always easy to keep the conversation going, maybe it was the way he reminded her of Nate. 

“Alright class, pull out your textbooks, open to chapter 4.” Their teacher said as soon as the bell had rung. He was a fifty-something year old man with fluffy white hair and square rimmed glasses. He always wore a button up shirt and slacks, but maybe that’s because it was the dress code for teachers. The class groaned as they all pulled out their books, and Max looked up when Jake pretended to stretch, dropping a piece of ripped up notebook paper behind him onto her desk. 

She picked it up, shielding it with her textbook as she read the four words scribbled onto the small paper. 

_ I hate this class.  _

_______________________________________

  
  


“Ready to get beaten by a girl?” Max asked as she and Lucas walked into the gym. The bell to end school had already rang a while ago, but unfortunately the cheerleaders had been practicing inside today, and they’d had to wait until they’d left. Now they only had half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes if they were lucky. 

“I get beaten by a  _ certain  _ girl all the time.” He pointed out. “But you’re  _ not  _ winning this time.” 

Max shook her head, dropping her backpack into her sideline. She’d taken off her hoodie and had changed into her shorts, but Lucas had the advantage of  _ shoes.  _ He had shoes he used  _ specifically _ for basketball, shoes that still had their grip. She used her vans for everyday activities, including skateboarding. The only time her shoes ever  _ had  _ grip was when she first bought them. 

“Ok.” Lucas said, lacing his shoes and standing up. “Let’s do this.” 

“No warm up?” 

“No warm up.” He agreed. “I’ll even let you start.” He reached down and grabbed the ball out of his duffel bag, throwing it towards her. She caught it, smirking. 

“You’re pretty confident.” 

“Why wouldn’t I be. I’m playing you and you’re only…” he measured her height, his head just above her head. She swatted him away. “5’ 0”?” 

“I’m 5’5” you jerk. You’re just freakishly tall.” 

“Freakishly?” He laughed. “ I’m 5’10”. Have you seen  _ any _ other boy at this school?” 

“Yeah, Jake Riley’s like...5’11”-6 foot.” 

“Jake Riley?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together as he followed her. “Why was that the  _ first _ guy to pop into your head? Why not like...Mike?” 

“He’s in my health class. I just saw him like, two hours ago. That’s why. By the way, he knows you’re trying out too.” Lucas froze right where he was standing, almost at the half court line in the middle of the gym. 

“He knows who I am?” 

“Well I don’t know about that but he’s aware you’re going to try out.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Lucas. Don’t let all of that distract you. You’re focusing too much on who's noticing you.” 

“Well yeah.” He said, starting to walk again. “Now there’s pressure because I know who's watching me.” 

“What did I tell you?” 

“When?” 

“When you were doing free throws yesterday.” He thought for a minute.

“Don’t let the pressure get to me. Just imagine there's no one else there. No distractions. Block them out?” She nodded. 

“Don't only use it for free throws.” She said, standing at the three point line and bouncing the ball a couple times. “Use it for everything.” She shot it and swished it, and Lucas gulped. 

_ Well crap.  _

“Are we gonna play? Or are you too scared?” 

“Scared?” He laughed. “Of you?” 

“Yes of me.” She said, raising her eyebrows. 

“Yes.  _ Very. _ But not in basketball.” He said, walking over to pick up the ball from under the hoop. He tossed it to her, setting up in a defensive stance in front of her. 

“Take your best shot.” She threw the ball up unexpectedly, swishing it again. She pushed her way past a stunned Lucas, picking up the ball and throwing it to him so hard it slipped through his hands and hit him in the chest. 

_ “That  _ was my best shot. Your turn.” 

_______________________________________

“Guys seriously. I’ve been standing here for ten minutes. Just finish already.” Mr Sinclair said, leaning in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. 

The score was tied 19-19 and it had been for the past twenty minutes. They’d agreed first to 21 won. Neither one had let the other score. 

Mr Sinclair had waited for almost seven minutes for them, and when they hadn’t shown up he found them still in the gym, which was nice to see but he was also starving and wanted to go home. 

Lucas was completely serious now, his gaze locked onto Max’s every movement so closely his dad was almost positive he hadn’t even heard him. 

Max faked left, but this time Lucas didn’t bite, instead opening his hips as she tried to go right, and cut her off. He stepped in front of her and she spun around him. She had a straight shot to the hoop, but as soon as the ball left her hand for a layup Lucas flew in front of her, swatting the ball so hard it hit the bleachers. 

“Stop!” She said, frustrated. 

“Then don’t let me block it.” Lucas replied sarcastically, moving to pick up the ball. 

“Guys dinners getting cold.” Mr Sinclair said, looking at his watch. 

“One minute!” The two of them snapped. The man held up his hands in surrender. If he’d learned  _ anything _ it was not to interrupt teenagers, specifically _ these two  _ teenagers, when they were being competitive. Because it never went well. 

Lucas jogged to the three point line, checking the ball to Max, who threw it back harder than necessary. 

He studied her carefully, looking at her defensive stance. He cradled the ball against his hip with both his hands, standing in a triple threat so Max didn’t know whether he would dribble or shoot, obviously ruling out the passing portion since it was one on one. He surged forward, dribbling with his weaker hand, and when Max went for it he dribbled behind his back, switching to his dominant left. 

He was in front of her now, but when he’d gotten close enough for a layup she was suddenly there. He went up, pump faking his layup so that Max took that bait like he’d hoped, twisting enough to throw it off the other side of the glass. He spun it perfectly, the ball hitting the far side of the backboard and shooting into the hoop. 

He held his hands up in victory, running a lap around the gym with his arms spread. 

“Yeahhhhhhhh.” He stopped in front of her. “We had a deal. You owe me food.” 

“No.” She said, pushing past him toward their stuff. 

“Whoa whoa hey.” He grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “A deals a deal.” 

“Well then maybe talk about it later when I’m  _ not _ pissed.” She snapped, yanking her arm away from him. Lucas looked over at his dad, his eyes widening as if to say ‘woooooooow’. 

Max got competitive with  _ everything, _ that wasn’t even a question, but this was frustration beyond what he’d seen before. Maybe it was from blocking her shot four times in a row. His dad chuckled, looking down at his watch again. 

“Ok seriously c'mon guys. Mom’s gonna kill me.” 

“You should challenge  _ her  _ to a basketball game.” Lucas joked. 

“Screw you.” Max grumbled, not even waiting for him as she pushed her way out the side doors and outside. 

“What did you do?” His dad asked. 

“Kicked her butt cause she got cocky.” Lucas said, shouldering his duffel bag. “She’ll be fine in an hour, maybe thirty minutes.” 

“You better hope so, or whatever deal you made is out the window.” He patted his son on the shoulder, steering him toward the door. 

“You did good though. I wasn’t expecting you to improve that much. You’ve seriously got a chance in tryouts.” 

“Really?” Lucas asked hopefully, pushing the door open. Max was standing next to the car, leaning against the door with his arms folded across her chest. 

“Yeah, seriously that layup was perfection.” 

“Think Uncle Jack would be impressed?” 

“Oh definitely. Not even  _ he  _ could do that. You’d probably beat him.” 

“Oh I’m counting on it.” Lucas said, grabbing the passenger side’s handle as his dad walked to the drivers side. “I’m challenging him next time he comes over. I don’t care if it’s in the driveway.” 

His dad laughed, unlocking the front door, the other two unlocking so that they could climb in. Max slammed the door shut behind her, leaning back with her arms still crossed, her gaze focused out the dark windows. 

“Good game.” Lucas said, turning around and holding out his hand. She looked at him, then down at his hand, finally moving to high five him, though she didn’t make very much of an effort. 

“You too.” Lucas smiled as he turned forward again, it was progress, she could talk to him without glaring a hole into him. 

“Let’s go home, I'm starving.” 

“Of course you are.” Max teased, this time her voice didn’t sound as angry. 

_______________________________________

“And I blocked Max four times. In a row.” Lucas said, taking a bite of his spaghetti before Max could hit him. 

“Yeah and it was  _ super  _ annoying!” She said, glaring at him. She’d changed back into her sweatshirt and jeans, and Lucas had changed too, his hoodie pulled up over his head, somehow making it look like he'd just woke up. Not that he was tired, just that he looked super comfortable in a hoodie and basketball shorts. 

“So...Max didn’t win?” Erica asked. 

“Nope.” Lucas said proudly, twirling his pasta on his fork. 

“I only lost by two.” Max defended herself. 

“Yeah...but you lost.” She rolled her eyes, taking a drink of her water just to prevent herself from punching him. 

“If you didn’t win that’d be kinda sad though.” Erica pointed out. “You’ve been training and Max hasn't.” 

“Her dad taught her to play!” 

“Yeah like...what—” she looked at Max. “Four—five years ago?” 

“Yeah sounds about right.” 

“She hasn’t played in  _ five _ years and was super close with you.”

“To be fair, I wasn’t going hard until she started scoring.” He said defensively. 

“That is true. Afterwards he started shoving me.” 

“That’s a foul.” His dad spoke up. “Gotta watch out for that because they  _ will _ call it everytime.” 

“I was not  _ shoving _ her. I’m just stronger so she couldn’t stay in one place if I was trying to get through her.” 

“Rude.” Max said, taking a bite of her meatball. 

“Am I wrong?” 

“No.” She admitted, then turned to Erica. “He’s kind of a bully.” 

“I know I’ve lived with him for twelve years.” 

“You bully me more than I bully you.” Lucas laughed. 

“I had to learn to survive.” The girl shrugged, ripping a piece off of her breadstick. “It’s hard just being in the same room with you.” 

“Because I’m so perfect huh?” 

“Because you’re  _ ugly.”  _

“Erica.” Her mom warned, a slight laughter in her tone. “Your brother is not ugly.” 

_ “Yeah _ , right Max?” Lucas asked. 

“He’s pretty cute.” She said, scrunching her face up as if it was hard to admit. 

“Ew.” Erica grumbled, turning back to her spaghetti. 

_______________________________________

“Ready to go Max?” Mrs Sinclair asked.

Max looked up from the tv. “Yeah.” She said, pushing herself up off the couch. 

“Oh wait. You forgot something upstairs.” Lucas said, standing up from his spot beside her and tugging at her arm.

“Be right back.” He said to his mom. The two of them climbed the stairs, Lucas taking three at a time while Max could only go two. 

“What’d I forget?” She asked as soon as they’d stepped in his room. When she turned around she saw him close the door, still leaving it open a crack because the rule was the door couldn’t be closed. 

“We had a deal.” He whispered, smirking. 

“Yeah and?” 

“You remember what the deal was?” 

“Whoever wins buys the other food.” 

“Yeah and…” he rolled his hands over each other, gesturing for her to continue. 

“I don’t know.” 

“You  _ don’t know?”  _

“Nope.” 

“Max.” 

“What?” She asked, doing her best not to smile. As awful as it was she enjoyed making him squirm. 

“You had to…” he looked at her, waiting for her to finish, but she just stared at him blankly. 

“You’re doing this on purpose.” He said, finally catching on. 

“Doing what?” She asked innocently, smiling. 

“If you make me say it out loud—”

“Why? Are you embarrassed.” His ears flushed red. 

“No.” 

“Then what am I supposed to do?” He glared back at her playfully. 

“You’re impossible.” She laughed, leaning up and gently kissing him. When she pulled away Lucas smiled. 

“See not that hard was it? But you still owe me food.” 

“Ok, but what did I forget?” 

“What? Max, that was just an excuse to come up here.” 

“Yeah an excuse that won’t work if I don’t bring something down.” 

“Ooooh.” He caught on, spinning around his room. “Uhhhhh.” He moved to the closet, rifling through a pile and pulling out one of his old sweatshirts that was folded on one of the shelves. 

“I was gonna give this to you anyways, it doesn’t fit me anymore. I actually don’t think it ever did.” She nodded, taking it from him. 

“That’ll work.” The two made their way downstairs, Lucas’s sweatshirt draped over her arm. 

“You guys were making out weren’t you.” Erica said from the couch, not even bothering to look up from her homework. 

“No!” Lucas objected, walking straight past her and out the front door, holding it open for Max as they made their way down the dark walkway, climbing into the already running car that was sitting idly in the driveway. 

“What’d you get?” Mrs Sinclair asked as Lucas climbed into the front. 

“Just an old jacket that doesn’t fit me anymore, figured she’d want it.” His mom answered with something like ‘aww that’s sweet’ but Max didn’t really hear. 

She’d unfolded the hoodie to look at it for the first time, smiling when she realized it was a jacket he’d gotten from camp, but they’d given him a size too small.

There was a small basketball logo printed on the front chest, a white decal against the black background of the fabric. On the back was a large number seven, with a name printed over the top like a jersey. Her fingers traced over to eight letters: Sinclair. She carefully folded it up and slipped it into her backpack. She knew for a fact this was one thing her mom—or Neil, would never take from her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone is wondering the kids schedules are:  
> Max—Math, history, science, health, study hall  
> Lucas—math, English , science, history, study hall  
> Dustin—math, study hall, science, English, history  
> Mike—math, study hall, science, history, Health  
> (It won’t be mentioned a ton but just so you know)  
> The next chapter is gonna be tryouts so get excited for that ig  
> I’ve been basing things from max walking into Lucas’s house cause she goes there everyday to getting snacks from the vending machine and going to a specific place off of my highschool experiences so I hope they make sense 😂  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	3. Tryouts (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was literally twice as long because tryouts are two days, so I just decided to split it.   
> That said, enjoy the first day of tryouts

It was already dark outside, and the lights were only on in half of the gym. Max though it looked eerie, like something was hiding in the shadows just across the halfcourt line. 

Lucas bouncing the ball as he lined up for free throws was the only sound she heard, along with the wind outside, which was going like a hundred miles an hour. 

She looked up when she heard the ball hit the back of the rim, again, followed by the bounce as it hit the floor at Lucas’s feet and landed in his hands. 

“Lucas. Seriously?” Max asked, realizing that he’d just missed his fourth out of five free throws.

_ “What?”  _ He asked angrily, looking up at her mid-bounce. He’d been unusually frustrated the whole time, especially when his shots didn’t go in. She’d made him take a break when he’d missed a layup and threw the ball at the wall. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” He said shortly, punching the ball into the floor instead of dribbling it. 

“Dude.” She said, walking over to take the basketball from him so he had to focus on her. “You’re a terrible liar.” 

“And you’re a terrible pep-talker.” She rolled her eyes, but didn’t move away. 

“Seriously what is it?” 

“Tryouts are  _ tomorrow.” _ He said, throwing his hands in the air. “And everytime I think about it I  _ mess _ up.” 

“Then stop thinking about it.” She said, like it was the most obvious thing ever. 

“It’s not that easy.” 

“If you’re this nervous tomorrow you’re gonna screw up. You have to be confident.” 

“That’s  _ kinda  _ hard to do when  _ everyone else has been playing their entire lives.”  _

“Luke, listen to me.” She said gently, taking a step closer. “Just play like you’ve been playing when we’re here. Don’t focus on everyone else and play differently.” 

“How do I do that?” He asked sincerely, his expression desperate as he looked back at her. 

“Just...imagine I’m the only one there?” She suggested. “Whatever you’re doing when you’re here.” 

“I don’t think about anything when I’m here.” He admitted. “I just play. Cause you’re literally my girlfriend so I don’t have to worry about you telling me I suck.” 

“You suck.” She said matter-of-factly. 

He winced. “Ouch.” 

“And now what do you want to do just because I said that?”

“Prove you wrong.” He said automatically. 

“Exactly. Prove them all wrong, ok? Show them you can play as well as all of them after only four months.” He nodded. “And you don’t suck.” 

“Thanks Max.” 

“Now make the rest of your free throws or I  _ will _ make you run again.” She said, tossing him the ball. 

“No pressure.” He said, laughing under his breath. 

______________________________________

“Why are you guys so  _ gross?” _ Lucas looked up where he was sitting on the floor with his back against the cough, Max playing with his hair while the two of them watched a rerun of The Goonies on the tv in the living room. 

“What are you talking about?” He shot back at his sister. He’d calmed down a lot since they'd gotten home, eaten dinner and done their homework, but he was still jumpy and anxious about tomorrow. Max had never seen him flinch so many times. She’d tried to hand him a pencil and he’d held his hands up like she was throwing it at him instead. 

“Does mom know you’re cuddling on the couch?” Erica asked, smirking. 

“We’re not!” Lucas snapped, sitting up straighter. 

“What’s going on?” Mr Sinclair called from the kitchen. Erica’s smirk slipped, and Max pulled Lucas back by his shoulders, making him lean back again. She looked up at Erica when Lucas turned back to the tv and shook her head, just slightly, a small signal that he wasn’t in the mood. 

Erica may not have listened to her older brother, but when Max warned her she usually listened, because Lucas hardly ever lost his cool, and when he did he shouldn’t be tested. He’d never punch her or anything like that but he’d be more of a jerk than usual. She disappeared up the stairs, her bedroom door closing a moment after. 

“Helloooo?” Mr Sinclair called again. 

“Nothing. It’s fine.” Max called back. Lucas huffed out a frustrated breath, slumping back against the couch and folding his arms across his chest. 

“I’m  _ so _ sick of her.” Max didn’t answer, and instead ran her hand through his hair again. He relaxed a little, his previously tensed shoulders dropping as he adjusted deeper against the couch. She absentmindedly let her hand move through his hair as she turned back to the tv, his jet tight curls slowly slipping through her fingers. She could feel his breathing slow to a steady rhythm by the time the kids had found One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map. 

“Don’t fall asleep.” She laughed, shaking him a little. 

“Why not?” He mumbled, leaning back against the couch to look up at her, except his eyes were still closed. 

“Because Max has to go home.” Mr Sinclair answered for her, walking into the living room, he was already pulling on his coat. 

“The movie’s not even over.” Lucas complained, rolling his head to look at his dad. 

“It’s a school night bud, you can watch something tomorrow after tryouts.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” He looked back at Max. “Any chance you’ll take back your “no way you’re letting me quit” thing?” He smiled innocently. 

“Yeah, no, definitely not, you’re doing this.” She said, ruffling his hair and making it messier than it already was before standing up. Lucas groaned again, trying to flatten his hair down. 

“Maybe you should go to bed Lucas.” His dad laughed. 

“We have to take Max home.” 

“I can take her. Unless she wants you to come, which is fine too.” The two of them looked at her for an answer, and she shrugged. 

“You've gotta sleep before tryouts.” She decided. “Go ahead.” 

“You sure?” He asked. She nodded. 

“Yeah I’ll be fine.” 

“Ok.” He stood up, stopping in front of her for half a second before going upstairs. “See you tomorrow.” He high fived her as he went past, and she watched as he disappeared up the stairs after Erica. 

“At least he’s not ready to murder his sister anymore.” Mr Sinclair teased, holding the front door open for her. She laughed in agreement, adjusting her backpack further up her shoulder, and walking out into the cold, windy night. 

The car was only in the driveway, but the walk felt a million miles long with the wind pushing her back. She climbed into the front seat, keeping her backpack on and setting her skateboard down at her feet. 

“You know Max, Lucas listens to you a lot more than you realize.” Mr Sinclair said, starting to car. 

“What…do you mean?” She asked, glancing at him curiously. 

“Well for starters, he asked for your permission to quit.” He laughed. 

“He knows I wouldn’t let him even if he really wanted to.” 

“I know, and that’s a good thing. I don’t think he would really quit either.  _ Especially _ after working this hard, but he still needs your approval and support.” She didn’t know how to reply to that. She knew Lucas had asked her to help him because they both knew she’d push him harder than he’d push himself, but she never thought anything about it having to do with her support and faith in him. 

Mr Sinclair glanced over at her, seeming to realize she didn’t know how to respond. He backed completely out of the driveway before he spoke again. 

“We love having you over everyday.” He started, looking at her again as if checking if he was crossing any boundaries. Neil would never care if what he was saying was making her uncomfortable. Mr Sinclair was a model father and she couldn’t get over how lucky Lucas was.

“Seriously, I’ve gotten so used to you being there before and after school that if you didn’t show up one day I’d probably be seriously worried.” Max huffed out a laugh. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She joked. “I like being over there, it’s much more...I don’t know...relaxed? I guess is the right word—than my house is.” 

“Family trouble?” 

“You could say that.” She said tightly, watching out the window as they turned onto her street. 

“Well, if you ever need to get out of there, for any reason, you’re welcome over at our house.” She swallowed, trying to control her now rapidly beating heart. She wasn’t sure if he knew anything about her home life, anything about Neil, because the way he’d said it was so innocent, like she could go over to their house just because her mom wouldn’t let her have dessert. 

He couldn’t possibly have known how bad it was there, or how much him saying that had meant to her. The Sinclair home was her safe place, and ever since school had started, she hadn’t gotten hurt because of one of Neil’s “episodes” as she liked to call him, just because she’d been allowed to stay. 

“Thank you.” She said, surprised to find her voice stronger than expected. 

“No problem.” He gave her a smile, putting the car into park as he pulled up to her house. “See you tomorrow.” 

“Bye.” She climbed out into the cold night air once again, pulling her jacket tighter around her as she walked up the walkway, but for the first time ever, she felt safe going home, because she knew the Sinclair’s would take care of her if something went wrong. 

______________________________________

Lucas’s leg was bouncing so fast he was about three seconds away from falling off his chair. The last two weeks had gone by so fast, and suddenly  _ today _ was the day of tryouts. 

He couldn’t sit still, couldn’t focus in class, and had barely managed  _ not _ to leave Max, who had been waiting for him after second hour outside his classroom. He’d walked straight past her and hadn’t noticed until she’d caught up with him and asked him what was wrong. 

“You ok dude?” The kid beside him whispered. He turned to look at him. He only vaguely knew Conner Jacobs. He went by Chance, which Lucas could only assume was his middle name. He had messy black hair and electric blue eyes, which was kinda intimidating when he looked right at you. He usually wore dark clothes, a black t-shirt and dark jogger sweatpants like he was today, but he was tan enough that it didn’t make him look goth, just...cool. He was a junior, but Lucas remembered him playing basketball in their competitions in PE at the middle school, he was good even then, but he’d been stuck on jv for two years now. 

“Yeah. I’m fine.” He whispered back. 

“You sure?” Chance laughed. “You’re shaking the desk.” Lucas looked down at his leg, steadying it down to a normal pace. 

“Worried about tryouts?” Lucas nodded. 

“Yeah, how'd you know?” 

“I’ve heard your name going around. Don’t worry it’s not as bad as you think. I was nervous my first time too but it’s not that bad.” 

“What do we do?” 

“Scrimmage, like a lot. We do a couple competitions for free throws and layups and stuff but mostly it’s five on five on both sides of the half court.”

“Any tips?” 

“Yeah actually. My dad told me a few things to do at every tryout and it really helps.” 

“Ok.” Chance turned to face him better, glancing up at their teacher, but he was too busy writing an entire essay of notes on the board. 

“One, introduce yourself to the coaches. Let them know who you are, and they’ll focus on you a little more. Two, communicate. They like kids who can be a team player and work well with the others.” Lucas nodded, listening intently. Any advice he could get was good. 

“Three, pay attention to instructions. Nothing drives a coach up the wall like kids not paying attention and doing it wrong, or asking what they’re supposed to do after it’s just been explained.”  _ That  _ he could relate to. There were so many kids who hadn’t listened at camp and had resulted in his whole team having to run wind sprints. 

“Finally, have a good attitude. If you start getting frustrated  _ don’t _ let it affect your game and start fouling, because then they see you as a loose basket case.” 

“Ok thanks.” Lucas smiled, feeling a little better. It didn’t seem as bad when you had inside information. “Why do you have to try out? We already know you’re making varsity.” Chance laughed. 

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, man, but I haven’t passed JV.” 

“But you’re good enough, they can’t just  _ keep _ you on jv with a bunch of freshman and sophomores. Can they?” 

“Can and have.” Chance answered, scribbling down a couple more notes their history teacher had finished writing on the chalkboard. “But I’ve been working hard all summer. I’ve got to prove I want it this time” 

“Well...good luck then.” Chance reached over to shake his hand. 

“You too, man.” 

_______________________________________

“Good luck.” Max said, waving to Lucas as he split off down the hall toward the locker room. She was gonna be waiting in the lunchroom until he was done at five, and since school had gotten out early, Lucas was surprised she was willing to wait three hours, though when he considered the alternative was going home to Neil, it didn’t seem that hard of a decision. 

He shouldered his backpack higher as he opened the locker room door, and was immediately hit with a burst of body spray and sweat. There were more boys than he ever expected to be in a boys locker room at Hawkins high school. 

The freshman boys were all huddled in a corner as they changed, occasionally glancing at the seniors, who were not only taller than them by about a foot or two but could also probably bench press them with one hand. 

Lucas dropped his bag on the bench closest to the door, and quickly changed into his compression shirt, shorts and his Nikes. 

He was debating whether or not to leave his school stuff in here when some guy not-so-sneakily stole someone’s wallet out of their backpack, only to turn and bump into the owner, who immediately punched him and started a full on fist fight. 

He picked up his bags and left the locker room, leaving the smell of sweaty teenage boys and the obnoxiously loud screaming behind as he slowly made his way to the lunch room. Max was sitting at one of the tables, her feet propped up on the seat across from her as she read what looked to be her health textbook, a worksheet lay on the table in front of her. 

“Hey.” Lucas said, getting her attention. She looked up, her eyebrows pressing together in confusion as she closed her book and sat up. 

“If you came here to ask if you could quit—” 

“No. It’s not that.” He said quickly, stopping in front of her. “Can I leave my bags here? I just saw some guy try to pickpocket someone else’s wallet and it turned into a fist fight so…” 

She laughed. “So you’d rather leave them with someone you trust?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Ok. Fine. But you owe me.” She said, holding out her hand to take his duffel bag from him. 

“Thanks.” He deadpanned, dropping his backpack on the ground and pushing it under the table with his foot. “See ya soon.”

_______________________________________

“Huddle up!” Lucas shot his ball and turned to look behind him, where the coaches were standing in the middle of the floor, all the kids crowding around them. He jogged over with the rest of them, remembering what Chance had told him just a few hours ago. 

_ “Pay attention to instructions. Nothing drives a coach up the wall like kids not paying attention and doing it wrong, or asking what they’re supposed to do after it’s just been explained.” _

“Welcome to tryouts gentlemen. We’re going to start right away.” The coach speaking had to be the head coach, a big burly man that reminded him suspiciously of Hopper, except he was fatter and his beard was longer and scruffier. 

“I am Coach Jenson!” He shouted. “And I am the head coach over these two.” He gestured to the two men beside him, on his right side was a shorter and stockier man with a skin tight Hawkins basketball t-shirt, a silver whistle hanging around his neck. He was completely bald and if he hadn’t looked so intimidating, Lucas might’ve laughed at the way his head reflected almost all of the bright lights in the gym. 

To the left of Coach Jensen, was Mr. Jones, their principal. 

“Jackson here is my assistant coach for JV, and Mr Jones, as you all know him as, is head coach of Varsity. You’ll be seeing a lot of these two, and they’ll be giving me suggestions for which kids they want on their team, but in the end, I make the final decision. Is that clear?” 

“Yes sir.” The boys muttered in anything but unison. 

“I said, is that clear?” Coach Jensen yelled louder. 

“Yes sir!” All the boys chanted at once. 

“Better. We’ve split you up into teams of five, so don’t get too excited.” He stopped, shooting two boys that were high fiving each other a look. “You will be scrimmaging with automatic subs every five minutes so everyone gets a chance to prove what they can do here. You can organize other subs however your team agrees. Teams one and two will be on the right side of the court, three and four you’re on the left. Get it?” 

“Got it!” The boys echoed. 

“Good. Team one.” He pulled out his clipboard, reading down the list of names. “JJ Petersen, William Tanner, Jacob Perez, Jason Goldberg, Jake Riley, Matthew Vance, Chase Wayne and Jack Scott.” 

The coach announced the rest of the teams, and Lucas was pleasantly surprised to find himself on the same team as Chance, who immediately had picked him out of the other kids and high fived him. 

The other boys on their team were a bunch of freshmen and maybe two or three juniors along with Chance, leaving Lucas as the only sophomore, though it didn’t bother him very much. 

“Teams one and three! You’re up on Court 1! Teams two and four, you’re on court two!” Coach Jensen yelled once the boys had been split.

“Jones!” The principal turned towards the coach. “Would you ref Court 1?” 

“On it coach.” 

“Jackson, you’re with me. Everyone else, get to work.” Everyone split to their designated courts, and Lucas was relieved that Coach Jones was reffing them. He couldn’t imagine having to listen to Jensen’s loud voice  _ and  _ a whistle. 

Their team huddled up, and Chance automatically took on the responsibility of the leader since he didn’t seem afraid to. No one questioned it. “First things first, we have to figure out starters, any takers?”

There were  _ no _ takers, the freshmen boys looked too scared to speak, especially against a junior. Chance glanced pleadingly at Lucas. 

“I’ll do it.” He spoke up. Chance smiled in relief. 

“Ok, anyone else, or should I just assign people with me and Lucas?” Everyone agreed that Chance knew best, and no one argued when he, Lucas and two of the more confident freshmen and one of the bigger juniors walked out to meet the other team. 

Lucas shook hands with the other point guard: Jack Scott, who demanded Lucas call him Scott and nothing else. Immediately Lucas decided he didn’t like this kid. 

He was around five nine or ten, with a blonde military styled buzz cut. He looked more like a center than a point guard with how big he was wide wise, but he was way too short. He had a serious death grip and when he pulled away, Lucas found his hand turning white from how hard the older boy had clutched it. 

“Ok boys, jump ball.” Coach Jones said as Lucas shook his hand out to try to relieve some of the pain. 

They set up in positions, Lucas standing behind Chance as he set up to jump against JJ Petersen, who was only about two inches taller but seemed bigger when they weren’t compared. Coach Jones lined the two boys up, then tossed the ball into the air, blowing his whistle. 

JJ won, but Lucas focused on Scott as he dribbled towards him, ordering the boys on his team around, and not in a good way. 

“Tanner get in position before I throw this at you!” He yelled, glaring daggers at one of the boys. He wasn’t paying attention to his dribbling, and Lucas knew he had a shot. 

__

_ “Prove them all wrong, ok? Show them you can play as well as all of them after only four months.”  _ Max's voice echoed in his head. 

He lunged forward, poking the ball loose and sprinting down the court. He had a wide open lay up and took it, remembering not to do anything too fancy and show off, opting just to do a simple off the glass. 

“He’s weak with his left hand and you’re strong, so keep picking him, he’s always focused on something else.” Chance whispered as they passed around the half court line, high fiving him. “Nice shot.” 

This time when Scott dribbled down the court he glared a hole into Lucas, but he wouldn’t let it affect him. The boy may have been bigger than him, but he wasn’t faster, and knew how to use his teammates to his advantage. 

“So Sinclair, you’ve got some moves huh?” Lucas didn’t answer, focusing on the steady rhythm of the ball bouncing from one hand to the other. 

“Hey, you gonna answer?” Scott said a little louder, catching the attention of some of his teammates. One was posted up against Chance completely, and if Scott would stop looking at Lucas and pass the ball they might’ve scored right there.

“Are you gonna play the game or not, because I came here to play, not make friends.” Scott dribbled lower, scowling at Lucas as he did so, slowly lulling him into relaxation as he did the same moves over and over. 

_ Between the legs, crossover, crossover, between the legs. _

Lucas let out a breath, crouching lower and focusing on Scott’s movements. His uncle had always warned him not to let his guard down, because the offense could strike any moment they saw weakness. 

Scott surged forward, but Lucas was prepared, stepping in front of him and planting his feet right before Scott body slammed him to the ground, still moving toward the hoop. 

The shrill sound of the whistle stopped their game play, and Lucas smiled. 

“Offensive foul. Charge.” Coach Jones said. “Team 1’s ball.” Scott bounced the ball as hard as he could, growling in frustration. Lucas’ teammates clapped, and Chance helped him to his feet. 

“You’re making a fool of him.” He laughed, patting him on the back. “Keep it up. He’ll get more and more mad and keep making stupid mistakes.” Lucas smiled. 

Maybe tryouts wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

_______________________________________

Team 1 started scoring the second Scott was subbed out, but Team 3 held them off well enough. 

Now Lucas was being subbed back in for the freshman currently playing Point Guard, and Chance was switching another Junior got Center. 

“Let’s finish the game.” Chance said, glancing up at the scoreboard. It was 28-29 with a minute left, and their team was up. 

“Let's go then.” Lucas agreed, high fiving him. 

Chance passed the ball into Lucas on the whistle, and he slowly walked up the court, dribbling steadily as he surveyed the defense. He caught movement, the freshman playing shooting guard, Harry, was cutting the baseline, and he’d lost his man off the screen from Chance. 

Lucas faked left, then suddenly went right, losing Scott just long enough to meet Harry with a perfect midrange pass. As soon as the boy caught it he went up, swishing it. 

Lucas high fived him as they jogged back down the court. “Man up, no score!” He called out, a few of the boys repeating after him. 

Scott was sprinting down the court at full speed, and he wasn’t slowing down. Lucas carefully set up, resting back on his heels just slightly so he’d be able to catch up if Scott tried to run past him, which he did. 

The boy pushed him to the side with his arm, which was a foul, but he’d hid it well enough that he didn’t get called. Lucas pushed through it, staying with him as he tried to get deeper into their offense, where he got surrounded by all five members of their team. 

“Scott!” Jake Riley yelled out, wide open at the three point line. Lucas knew if Jake made that shot they’d be tied, and he’d definitely make it, but Scott wasn’t making any move to pass the ball. 

He stepped back, going up to shoot, but Lucas swatted the ball from behind him, grabbing it out of the air before it could bounce and sprinted toward the other side of the court. He could hear everyone else sprinting behind him and his teammates yelling for him to keep going, so he didn’t look back.

He picked up the ball two steps away from the basket, but as soon as he jumped he was body checked out of midair. The ball flew up, and he flew out of bounds, landing on his feet but losing his balance and falling onto his back, sliding a few feet behind the hoop. He felt his head hit the ground just hard enough to give him a headache, but probably not a concussion. He didn’t try to get up, groaning as he brought his hands up to his face. 

The whistle blew, and he vaguely heard Coach Jones announcing a flagrant foul on Scott, who immediately started to protest that it was a clean block. 

“You ok?” Lucas pulled his hands away from his face, finding the gym lights a little brighter than they were before, but luckily Chance was standing over him, blocking most of the light. 

“Yeah.” He mumbled, reaching out for Chance’s outstretched hand and pulling himself up. 

“You little son of a—” Scott pushed through the crowd of boys from both teams that had surrounded around the basket, pushing Lucas back again as he let out a string of insults and curse words. 

Lucas almost lost his balance, and he probably would’ve been back on the ground if Chance hadn’t been there, holding onto him as JJ Petersen stepped in between the two of them and Scott, pushing the smaller boy back. 

JJ was 6’ 6” and about one-hundred seventy pounds of pure muscle. He was a senior, and the class president of the student council. Every girl was in love with him but surprisingly he didn’t have a girlfriend. He had messy brown hair, and now sweaty it glowed under the lights of the gym. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face as he took a step closer to Scott. 

“Back off.” He said, his voice even and calm but powerful. Lucas felt kinda honored the most popular kid in school was standing up for him. 

“He’s been humiliating me the whole game!” Scott fumed. 

“Well you don’t make it much of a challenge.” Jake Riley spoke up, moving to stand beside JJ. Compared to the 5’ 11” height of Jake, JJ looked even more intimidating. 

“You’re gonna pay Riley!” Scott roared, charging for Jake, but in one simple move JJ pushed Scott back again, and Jake didn’t even flinch. 

“Break it up!” Coach Jones said, pushing a struggling Scott away from a completely collected JJ and Jake. Lucas had to admit it was pretty impressive how well they’d kept their cool. 

The rest of the gym was watching now that they’d finished their game, which made Lucas a little uneasy, but seeing the way Scott only turned more red and clenched his fists harder was fine by him. 

“There’s still ten second left. Scott, you’re out. Barnes, you’re in as point. The rest of you, back to the bench.” Jones said. The boys crowding around them dispersed, and everyone went back to normal, like nothing had ever happened. 

“You okay Sinclair?” He asked. Lucas nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Good, can’t have you hurt before the season even starts.” He winked. “You’re up for free throws.” 

“Oooh coach likes you.” Chance teased, patting Lucas on the chest. “C'mon. Let’s go get these free throws done.” 

Lucas stepped away from Chance, feeling a tiny sting of pain in his leg as he walked, but it was nothing he hadn’t handled before. He lined up at the free throw line, the other boys setting up around him. 

“Two shots, rest on the first.” Jones said, blowing his whistle and passing the ball to Lucas. 

He spun it in his hands, feeling around it until he felt the right spot, then dribbled it three times, remembering where Max had told him to focus. 

_ Just in front.  _ He chanted to himself.  _ Just in front.  _

He let out a breath, straightening out and flicking his left wrist down. He knew it was going in even before he heard the swish of the net.

Chance and the other post moved from their positions under the hoop to high five him. 

“Next one. Right here.” Chance whispered, and Lucas nodded. 

“On the shot.” Jones announced, blowing the whistle and bouncing Lucas the ball again. 

_ Just in front.  _ He thought again. 

He shot the ball, and just by the way it left his hand he knew it wasn’t going in. It bounced off the rim, and he found himself moving, jumping up and catching the ball midair to throw it off the glass again, where it miraculously went in. He stood frozen in surprise under the hoop for a second, only moving when Chance slapped him on the back. 

“You sir,” The older boy laughed. “Keep surprising me.” 

“Trust me.” Lucas said. “You’re not the only one.” 

The other team passed the ball in and Lucas glanced at the clock. Ten seconds, the other team was only down by three. 

“No score!” Chance yelled out. 

The new point guard Lucas was guarding was good, not as predictable as Scott. He faked left, spinning to the right, but Lucas’s senses seemed to speed up, and he knew what was happening before it did.

“Harry! Three point!” He yelled. 

Harry rushed to get into position as the boy he was guarding caught the ball, already going up to shoot, but Lucas knew he wouldn’t get there in time. 

Suddenly Chance flew out of nowhere, blocking the boy's shot. Lucas picked it up on the second bounce and started to run, finding that the new point guard was much faster than Scott was, and he wasn’t letting Lucas score again. 

He saw a blur or curly brown hair just behind him, and he knew he had a chance to score still. Lucas led the boy guarding him to the key, before bouncing the ball behind him, meeting Harry as he went up for a layup just as the buzzer sounded. 

“Team three is the winner.” Coach Jones announced, before turning to Lucas and Harry. “But next time, don't score at the buzzer if you’re up.” He laughed. The two boys blushed, but high fived each other anyways. 

  
  


“Group up! Free Throws. Shoot ten and report how many you made to one of us.” Coach Jones yelled, his voice carrying across the gym, where all seventy or so boys were now panting for air. 

They’d played three scrimmages, one after another, followed by running five up and backs, in which the three winners (JJ, Harry, and Jake) had to shoot three pointers to determine a winner. Jake had won (obviously) and had been exempt from running a ladder that everyone had to do in under twenty five seconds, whoever didn’t make it would run again. 

Lucas made a silent promise to thank Max for making him do it in under twenty, he didn’t think it was physically possible to be any more tired than after training with her, but if he hadn’t of it would’ve been worse. 

“Hey, wanna pair up?” Chance asked as he made his way over to him, sweating through his black sleeveless shirt, his dark hair pushed back so that he looked like a greaser from the 60’s. 

“Yeah.” Lucas agreed, bending over with his hands braces against his knees to catch his breath. 

“Can we join you guys?” The two of them looked up to see JJ and Jake standing in front of them. 

“Yeah.” Chance said, tossing JJ the ball. “Let’s see what you can do, pretty boy.” 

“Dude. Eight out of ten free throws?” Jake laughed, catching the ball under the hoop as Lucas swished his last shot. “You’re a pro! I thought Max said you’d never played before.” 

“Max?” Chance and JJ asked at the same time. 

“My girlfriend. And I haven’t. She trained me.” Lucas said, handing the ball over to Jake as they switched spots.

“Girlfriend?!” The two older boys exclaimed. 

“You've been holding out on me?” Chance teased. Jake laughed, setting up at the line. “What’s next? You’re a millionaire?” 

“You only started talking to me a few hours ago.” Lucas pointed out. 

“And if I was a millionaire, do you really think I would be living in Hawkins?” He caught the ball under the hoop after it fell through the net, bouncing it back to Jake at the free throw line. 

“Fair point.” Chance said. 

“Alright boys!” Jake stopped mid-shot as they all turned to look at the coach. “As soon as you’ve reported your free throws you’re free to go, we’ll be making cuts and posting the list right outside the gym in about half an hour. Those of you that stay, we’ll see you tomorrow at eight am sharp. Those that are cut, I hope to see you next year.” 

A bunch of nervous looking freshmen rushed out the door immediately to get to the locker room before all of the seniors, but none of the other boys made a move to leave. Even those that were done with their free throws stayed to talk to their friends and the coaches. 

“So, how many of you actually know each other?” Lucas asked as he looked out across the gym. 

“A lot of us know each other from doing intramurals at the middle school during recess, but pretty much the same people show up every year, or whenever there’s an open gym. Once you’re in basketball you know everyone.” JJ answered 

“So you know everyone in this room by name?” Lucas asked, passing Jake the ball again.

”That’s three by the way.” He reminded him. 

“Yeah.” JJ said after a minute of surveying the crowd. 

“Wanna bet?” Lucas smiled. 

“Try me Sinclair.” 

“Ok...who’s that?” He asked, pointing to one of the shorter kids with dark wavy hair who was practicing his fade away shots. He looked like a more athletic version of Mike. 

“Jackson Lewis.” Jake’s shot bounced off the back iron and into his hands once again. 

“Him?” Lucas asked, pointing at someone else with buzzed red hair and a face full of freckles. 

“Mason Lemmon.” 

“Ok what about...him?” Lucas pointed to a kid about his and Jake’s height, with curly blonde hair. He was built like a basketball player, long, and was practicing his fakes into jump shots, he swished every one. 

JJ’s face turned to confusion. “Huh, I don’t know that kid. Maybe he’s new?” 

“He is.” Jake spoke up, wincing when Lucas had to chase his ball a few feet before passing it back to him. “That’s Caleb Christensen. He moved here just before school started from Florida...I think. He just found out about tryouts yesterday.” 

“That’s bold of him to try out right after moving here.” Lucas said, catching the ball as it bounced in front of him. “Even I was nervous about trying out and I’ve lived here since the first grade.” 

“Yeah. He’s pretty cool though.” Jake said, catching the ball and shooting his free throw carelessly, swishing it cleanly. “He can skate and surf, and he’s held an alligator before.” 

“Well duh he’s from Florida.” Chance laughed. 

“Yeah well, he’s still pretty cool.” Jake said, shooting his seventh shot. “Cmon Lucas. Speed round.” 

He passed Jake the ball, who immediately shot it the second it hit his hands, and not surprisingly, it went in. 

“Maybe you should shoot like that all the time.” Lucas teased, passing the ball to Jake again only to see the same result. 

“Ok. I’ll be serious now.” Jake said, catching the ball and wiping off his feet, then dribbled twice and shot the ball, banking it in off the backboard. He jogged off to tell the coaches his score, and Lucas didn’t miss the way he already had a handshake with Mr Jones. He guessed that’s what would happen after being a star player your whole life. 

“Let’s go.” Jake said as he jogged back to them. “We’re gonna wanna get to the locker room before Alex hogs the shower again.” The comment didn’t make any sense to Lucas, but judging by the way JJ and Chance agreed, he decided to trust Jake's judgement. 

_______________________________________

“So they’re posting cuts?” Max asked from across the lunch table. “How long?” Lucas glanced at his watch. 

“Ten—fifteen minutes?” 

“How’d it go?” 

“Well if you consider humiliating a guy so bad that he decks you out of midair then pretty good.” 

“Are you ok?” She laughed. 

“Fine now. Speaking of which I made some new friends. Including your boyfriend.” 

“Jake?” 

“Max!” 

“What? You’re the one that said it, not me.” She smiled. He glared back at her. 

“I’m  _ kidding. _ Obviously. Continue.” 

“Yes, Jake is one of them, also this kid from my class, Chance, the one that gave me all those tips.” She nodded, he’d told her in study hall about everything that Chance had told her. 

“And JJ.” 

“JJ as in JJ Petersen?” She asked, her eyebrows shooting up. He nodded. 

_ “You _ —of  _ all _ people—”

“Hey!” 

“—became friends with the  _ most popular guy in school?”  _

“Yes, why is that a surprise?” He asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. She studied him for a moment. 

“You’re bluffing.” 

“I am not!” 

“You’ve got the smirk.” 

“What smirk?” 

“The one you make when you’re lying” 

“I’m not lying!” Max laughed again, leaning back in her chair. 

“Sheesh you’re so easy to mess with lately.” He shook his head, huffing out a laugh. 

“Do you exist purely to torture me?” 

“Pretty much, yeah.” He rolled his eyes playfully, picking up his backpack off the floor. 

“You didn’t steal my food, did you?” 

“You had food?!” She exclaimed, sitting up and leaning towards him. “I was dying and had to walk all the way through the school to the vending machine and all they had was pretzels.” He laughed, pulling out a fun sized bag of peanut m&ms. 

“You said you’re allergic to peanuts.” She teased. 

“No, I said I was allergic to peanut butter  _ if _ it was in a nutter butter.” He clarified, ripping the bag open. “Want some?” 

“Duh.” She held her hand out and he poured some into her hand. 

“Should you really be eating these right after basketball though?” She asked, popping a red one into her mouth. 

“I’m not on the team yet. They can’t tell me what to eat.” He said, tossing a blue one into the air and catching it in his mouth. 

“So you’re just as good at catching m&ms as skittles I see.” Max smirked, popping another candy into her mouth. 

“Not when  _ you’re  _ throwing them. I swear you try to hit me in the face on purpose.” 

“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. Catch.” He just barely caught a glimpse of a green ball flying through the air before he moved his head to the side, catching it in his mouth. 

“Like I said.” He mumbled, swallowing. “You  _ suck _ at throwing.” She threw another one at him, this time hitting him in the arm, which felt like a  _ paintball, _ but he wouldn’t admit that to her. Instead, he picked it up off the table and ate it. 

“Fine by me. You’re just giving me more.” 

“Idiot.” She mumbled, leaning back in her chair and shielding her candy as if he’d reach across the table and steal it even though he had his own. 

“Lucas—” Jake poked his head around the corner that led from the hallway to the lunch room, his hair wet from the shower. “—oh, hey Max.” She waved at him and he turned back to Lucas.

“List is posted.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this story is so boring 😂 I promise it will be more fun once he gets into the season.   
> Just an FYI for future chapters, I’m going to base the games off of how they were when I traveled so if certain foods weren’t in the concession stands in 1987 dont come at me   
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	4. Tryouts Day 2

Lucas opened his eyes with difficulty. In the darkness of his bedroom with the absolute minimum amount of light leaking in through his curtains he still found it difficult just to get up to find his alarm clock and turn it off. 

He tried to sit up and groaned. His whole body hurt. Everything from his shoulders down to his feet was sore. 

Suddenly his door opened and his light flicked on and while he was temporarily blinded, something hit him in the head. 

He untangled himself from the blanket and let his eyes adjust to the light just enough to look up, squinting to see where Max stood in the doorway, her hair slightly messy under her hoodie. 

“You’re gonna be late for the second day of tryouts.” She said, totally poker faced. He looked down and realized she’d tossed a couch pillow at him. 

“My alarm went off  _ three seconds ago _ ...and why are you here?” 

“I slept on the couch, idiot. It was Friday yesterday.” 

“Oh. Yeah. Forgot.” He remembered last night now that she mentioned it. After finding out he’d made the list to come back for tryouts the second day, he’d gone home happier than he’d been in days, but that thought was quickly replaced when he realized that since it was Friday, he had to babysit Erica while his parents went on date night. 

He was even happier to find out Erica was gone at a friends house for the night and his parents allowed him to have the Party over for movie night, complete with pizza and Coke that they’d already gotten for him. 

It had been almost midnight by the time they’d finished their second movie, and his parents had hurriedly called off Dustin’s suggestion of watching a third, sending them all home. 

Max’s parents were gone for the weekend, and instead of forcing her to spend the night in a dark, empty house they’d allowed her to stay over, as long as she followed the rules, which were she stayed downstairs and Lucas stayed upstairs until morning. 

“Hello? Earth to Lucas?” He shook his head, realizing he’d been zoning out and staring at the wall. 

“Yeah sorry what?” He said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. 

“Your dad said we’re leaving in twenty minutes to drop us off before he goes to work so you need to get up and eat.” 

“Who makes basketball tryouts at eight o’clock on a Saturday?” He groaned, laying back on the bed. 

“Someone who doesn’t wanna waste two hours on something important. Cmon.” 

“Hey!” He said, sitting up and throwing the pillow back at her. It landed about two feet short. “This  _ is  _ important.” 

“Yeah yeah. Get up.” She said, picking up the pillow and closing the door, her footsteps retreating down the hallway and then the stairs.

Lucas slowly dragged himself out of bed, changing into a clean pair of basketball shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He grabbed his basketball bag from the foot of his bed and threw it over his shoulder as he made his way to the bathroom across the hall, brushing his teeth and flattening his hair so it at least looked somewhat normal. 

When he went downstairs Max was already at the table eating a plateful of scrambled eggs and sausage, this time changed into a simple t-shirt and jeans instead of sweatpants and a hoodie, with her hair tied up into a ponytail. 

“Hey sleepyhead.” She smiled. 

“Haha.” He deadpanned, sitting down next to her as his mom set a plate on the table for him. 

“You didn’t have to make breakfast mom.” He said, though secretly he was grateful not to go to play two hours of basketball on a stomach full of cereal. 

“It was no problem honey.” She said, kissing his forehead. He dug into his food, finishing his eggs before Max was even halfway through hers. 

“That’s disgusting.” She said, her fork hovering halfway between her mouth and the plate. 

“Wha?” He asked, his mouth full of eggs. 

“Lucas don’t talk with your mouth full.” His mom scolded, leaning down to look under the cupboard at him from where she stood at the sink. He blushed, swallowing his food. 

“There’s no way you can even taste it. You’re just inhaling it.” Max continued. 

“I can  _ taste _ it.” He insisted, picking up one of his sausages. 

“Then what does it taste like?” 

“Eggs.” He said smartly, biting off half of the sausage. She rolled her eyes, turning back to her food. 

“You’re impossible.” She mumbled, sticking a forkful of eggs into her mouth. 

_______________________________________

Lucas drank half his water bottle in less than three seconds. 

He should’ve expected they would have to run first thing, but he didn’t. Three ladders and five up and backs later, he was already sweating, but he felt more awake. His already sore legs were burning, starting to feel more and more like Jello. 

“Listen up pip-squeaks!” Jackson yelled, louder than necessary. Chance had warned him that Jackson had no quiet level, but he still wasn’t prepared for his voice to echo like thunder around the entire gym on a sunny day. 

“We’re letting you pick your own teams today. You can have no more than seven, is that clear?” 

“Yes sir.” The boys called out. 

“Good. Now split up. We’ll pair you up after you have your teams.” 

“Well, guess we’re halfway done.” JJ spoke up from beside Lucas. Today he was wearing an old gray Hawkins Basketball tshirt, which had to be from his freshman or sophomore year because it was skin tight.

“Jake, Chance, over here!” The two boys met them as others scrambled around to find teammates. Chance was wearing a plain gray sleeveless hoodie shirt and red shorts while Jake was wearing a red California State tank top, and Lucas couldn’t help but realize how much  _ more _ it made him look like a surfer dude. 

“We can’t play with only four players.” Jake pointed out, fingering the leather beaded necklace around his neck. “And if we want subs…” 

“We have a point, one guard, and two posts. If we could find one more guard we could play without subs.” Chance spoke up, counting on his fingers. 

“You don't think we’ll get tired?” Lucas asked. 

“Oh we  _ will, _ but as long as we have another guard we’re at least set with a full team line up.” They four of them scanned the gym, but it seemed as if everyone else had formed their teams. 

“There.” Jake said suddenly, pointing. Standing just outside the basketball court with his arms folded awkwardly across his chest was Caleb Christensen, the blonde curly haired kid they'd seen practicing the day before, dressed in complete white, from his compression shirt to his basketball shoes. “Caleb’s a guard.” 

“Well then let’s go get him.” JJ said, moving towards the boy without hesitation. 

“Hey, Caleb!” Jake called out. When he turned towards them Lucas swore the boys' eyes lit up. 

“Jake.” 

“We need another guard, man. You got a team?” 

“Nope.” Caleb answered, holding his arms up to gesture around him. “It’s just me.” 

“Well you’re in luck then.” JJ said, patting him on the back. “Welcome to the A-team.” 

  
  


“JJ, your team is playing Scott’s!” Coach Jensen announced. 

“How is he even still here?” Lucas whispered to Chance as the other teams were announced. “He literally threw a temper tantrum yesterday.” 

“Yeah, well, they might still see something in him, like he’s big, so he could be used for defense.” 

“But he’s a ball hog.” Lucas pointed out. “I don’t think I saw him  _ not _ have the ball even once while he was on the floor.” 

“Don’t ask me, dude.” Chance shrugged. 

“You’re talking about Scott?” Caleb whispered from behind them. 

“Yeah.” Lucas nodded. “Wondering how he’s still here.” 

“He’s Jackson’s nephew.” Caleb answered. The two of them turned to face him. 

“How do you know that?” Chance asked. 

“He’s my neighbor, sadly. Never quits bragging about his basketball  _ superstar _ of a nephew.” 

“You’re joking?” Lucas laughed. 

“Unfortunately, no.” 

“So you’ll think he’ll make it just because of his uncle?” 

“No.” Chance said right away. “He’s tried out three years now. Jackson always puts him on the list but Coach Jensen hates him. He’s taken him off two of those times.” 

“Only two out of three? So he’s made the team before?” Caleb asked. 

“If you count the seventh grade league.” Chance said. “Then yes.” 

Caleb and Lucas held back a laugh. 

“You  _ pay _ to get on a team.” Lucas said, remembering when his parents had signed him up for pretty much the same thing in third grade. 

“Exactly.” 

“ALL RIGHT! REFS WILL BE ASSIGNED TO EACH COURT!” Jackson boomed, making the three of them jump. He glared right at them, as if he’d heard their whole conversation, but Lucas had noticed the coach keeping a closer eye on him ever since Scott’s blow up yesterday. 

“C'mon guys.” Jake said, calling them over to the left side of the court. The five of them huddled together, all listening to JJ as he told them the game plan: lots of screens and spacing. Simple enough. 

Jake tried to explain a play he and JJ had learned on Varsity last year, Motion,and they’d all agreed to try it out. 

“Let’s go princesses!” They turned around to find Coach Jackson standing in the middle of their court, throwing a ball from one hand to the other. The other team stood beside him, their arms folded and a smirk on each of their equally annoying faces. 

Chance, Caleb and Lucas shared a look. 

_ Wonderful.  _

_____________________________________

“Foul!” The shrill sound of the whistle made Lucas look up from his defensive stance, to where JJ was standing in front of the hoop with his hands straight up. Scott, who was clearly faking, was laying on the ground cradling his elbow. 

Jackson had been making calls that made absolutely no sense the whole game. Even when Lucas had stripped the ball from Scott and the boy had flopped very dramatically he’d tried to call an excessive use of violence against Lucas. This wasn’t football. 

“I was set!” JJ argued. “If anything  _ he _ fouled  _ me!”  _

“Watch it Peterson, or I’ll make it two.” Jackson threatened. 

“You can’t do that.” Jake said matter-of-factly. 

“You want one too, Riley?” The boy held his hands up in surrender, walking back to the three point line.”

“You ok, son?” Jackson asked as he kneeled in front of Scott, who was still milking what  _ at best  _ was just a bruise from running head on into a 6’ 6 human wall. 

“I think it’s broken.” Scott whimpered. 

“It’s not broken.” Lucas said, remembering when Will had broken his finger after falling off his bike six years ago. 

“Shut it, Sinclair.” Jackson growled. Lucas glanced over at Caleb, who rolled his eyes. 

“You want me to go get Coach Jensen to look at it?” He continued. 

“I said  _ shut it _ , Sinclair!” Jackson yelled, helping the “injured” boy to his feet. 

“There a problem over here?” Jones asked, making his way over to their court, where their game play had stopped for a full five minutes now. 

“These boys are being very unsportsmanlike. First JJ here practically tackled Scott—” 

“Wait what!” JJ objected. 

“—and now they’re heckling him.” Jackson spit, glaring at each boy in turn but lingering on Lucas. Scott’s team sneered, as if they were enjoying the show. 

“No we're not!” Chance spoke up. “Lucas offered to go get help!” 

“Watch your mouth, Jacobs.” Jackson snarled. “Talking back to a coach gets you on their bad side.” 

“No, no that’s ok, thank you Chance.” Jones said, turning to Jackson. 

“How about you take  _ Jack _ here to the nurse, since he insists his arm is broken.” Lucas smiled. 

“Oh-n-no I’m fine.” Scott stammered immediately. He’d taken faking his injury too far. 

“Ah, see, shock. Go ahead Jackson I’ll finish refing this game.” 

“No. He’s fine. Just a scratch.” Jackson glared at Jones, pushing Scott, apparently forgetting about his nephew's “injury.” 

“He’ll sit out for a little bit. I’ll finish the game.” 

“Well I’d like to stay and watch, if that’s not a problem.” Jones decided, sitting on one of the chairs set up as the bench on the sideline. 

“Not at all.” Jackson lied through his teeth, picking up the ball and passing it to Lucas with such force it probably would’ve knocked him out if he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Your ball, Golden Boy.” Lucas glanced at Caleb, as if questioning what in the heck had just happened. The boy just shrugged, moving to take his place at the three point line opposite Jake. 

Chance took the ball from Lucas, stepping out of bounds and passing it back into him. “Coach likes you.” He teased, which was now a recurring joke between the two of them. Lucas laughed, shaking his head as he started to dribble up the court. 

“Set up Motion!” He called out, his confidence starting to come back when the other team looked beyond confused at JJ’s varsity play.

_______________________________________

“Ok guys. We’ve got…” JJ glanced at the scoreboard. 

“Thirteen seconds to make the greatest comeback in history.” 

“Dude we’re only down by four, no reason to be dramatic.” Chance said, pushing his hair away from his face. 

“Whatever. We’ve got thirteen seconds for this play to work out.” 

“Motion?” Caleb asked. “Because I think they’re starting to catch on to all the screens and switching and stuff. 

“No, not motion. We’re going to do Box.” Jake looked up at him from across the huddle. 

“You’re right. Box isn’t a very hard play, and if we do it right it’s an easy bucket.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Could someone please just explain what Box is.” Lucas said, glancing up at the scoreboard, where their timeout clock was slowly clicking closer to zero. 

“Right. Sorry. This is gonna be kinda confusing without a clipboard so just...try to visualize it. Caleb, you’re going to be taking the ball out.” 

“Not Chance?” The boy asked. 

“No. This whole play is relying on us getting  _ you _ to the basket for a layup.” JJ said, looking at him seriously. 

“Oh wow pressure. Ok continue.” 

“Jake and Lucas, you guys are going to line up here and here.” JJ said, pointing to two spots on his hand. “On opposite sides of the halfcourt line. Chance and I will be here and here, behind you.” 

“I think I know what this is now.” Chance said. “But we always just called it Three.” 

_ “Exactly _ like three.” JJ said. “When they give Caleb the ball, Lucas and Jake screen down for me and Chance.” 

“The two of you come off of the screen.” Jake said. “And Caleb pump fakes to Chance and passes to JJ.” 

“Then you run as fast as you can.” JJ said, looking directly at Caleb. “Toward the hoop. I’ll get you the ball, and if you get into trouble, Lucas will be coming down for a two on one.” 

“Got it.” Caleb said. “Seems simple enough.” 

“And after we score? We’re still down by two, what do we do then?” Lucas asked, glancing at the timer again. Ten seconds. 

“We set up a full court press. Ignore the ball. You focus on your man and your man only. If we can force a five second call then that’s great, because then we take it out under the basket. If they pass it in. Do. Not. Let. Them. Score.” JJ pointed at one of them with each word, emphasizing the point. 

“You got it?” Suddenly Lucas understood why so many people chose to follow JJ, he was a natural born leader. 

“Got it.” They all nodded. The whistle blew to signal the end of their time out and they all looked up from their huddle. 

“Let’s go, men!” Coach Jones shouted. Until he’d been switched for Jackson as ref they'd been down by almost ten, and even if they  _ did _ score a basket it magically wouldn’t show up on the scoreboard. 

Lucas was beginning to realize why no one wanted to be on JV with the guy. 

“It's the home team's ball.” 

“Why do  _ they _ get to be the home team?” Some kid on Scott’s team complained for the millionth time. 

“Like I already  _ told _ you Johnson, we just put who scored first in the home slot. End of story.” Coach handed the ball over to Caleb at the sideline, and blew his whistle. 

“Go!” Caleb said.

Lucas and Jake set a down screen, the post Lucas was screening almost getting around him, but JJ was fast enough. Caleb pump faked to Chance like Jake had told him, which was so convincing not only did it make three defenders lunge for it but Lucas thought he’d passed it the wrong way at first. 

Caleb threw the ball to JJ, who immediately handed it back to him as he ran past, using JJ as a screen as he took the handoff. Caleb had a straight shot to the hoop, leading to a layup by a play that couldn’t have been done more perfectly. 

“Guys remember the plan!” JJ yelled out. 

Lucas focused on the point guard he was guarding, watching his every move. Suddenly the smaller kids eye went wider, and Lucas made the mistake of turning around to look. Only a second later did he realize the kid was running. 

He swore under his breath, sprinting after the kid as he caught the ball at half court like a football player, already heading toward the hoop ahead of everyone. Lucas used every last bit of strength he could, pouring on speed.

He watched the ball fall through the hoop, heard the buzzer go off, and the other team cheering. He caught the ball, bouncing it against the ground as hard as he could, not caring when it hurt his hands coming back up. 

One job: Do. Not. Let. Them. Score. That was all JJ had told him and he’d messed it up. 

He turned around, finding his teammates already crowded around him. 

“Don’t worry about it dude.” JJ said before he could apologize. “It’s just tryouts. We haven’t even got to practice full court presses as a team yet.” 

“You gave me one job.” 

“And you did it.” Chance said. “Not...perfectly, but you still did a press. And for your first time it wasn’t even half bad.” 

“So...you’re not mad at me for making us lose?” Jake laughed. 

“Dude if it wasn’t for you we’d be losing by a lot more. Especially since  _ Jackson _ was reffing half the time. You’re fine.” Lucas huffed a laugh, letting out a breath. 

“Baseline!” Coach Jensen yelled, his voice cutting through the gym. The five of them groaned.

“We’ll be lucky if we can even  _ walk _ after this.” Caleb said. 

_______________________________________

“Finally. Please tell me I don’t have to wait for you  _ everyday _ after school when you make the team.” Max teased when Lucas finally came out of the locker room, changed into jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was still wet from the shower, and he looked dead tired. 

“I didn’t  _ tell _ you to come today.” He smiled. “You could’ve stayed at my house.” 

“Erica’s not there.” She said. “Would’ve been kinda awkward to watch tv by myself.” 

“My mom’s there.” 

“Like I said.” She teased, moving beside him and dropping her skateboard to roll next to him as they made their way back toward the gym. 

“So, any getting tackled out of the air today?” She asked. He scoffed, looking over at her, finding her eye level with him when she stood on her skateboard. He didn’t like it. 

“Not that I can think of, no.” 

“Bummer. Kinda wanted to see it.” 

“I can  _ guarantee _ you, of all people, will find some way. Whether it’s doing it yourself or paying someone to.” He teased, pushing her shoulder so she had to swerve away from him just a little bit. 

“You’re gonna get yelled at.” He said, pointing at her board. 

“Who’s going to yell at me? The basketball coach?” She asked, pivoting her board so she was next to him again. 

“Who is also the principal.” He pointed out. 

“Whatever. No ones here.” 

“There’s a lot of people here.” She looked up and down the hallway, then back at him.

“I don’t see anyone.” 

“You’re hilarious.” 

“I know right? Thank you. I’ve been practicing.” He shook his head, willing himself not to laugh because she would think she succeeded. 

Max measured from his head and over his, which was an exaggeration because they were clearly the same height right now.

“I don’t know how you can stand being up here.” She said, looking down at the ground beneath her, going by so slow she had reached out to hold onto his shoulder so he could pull her along. 

“Well when you’re used to  _ not _ being the size of an ant you get used to it.” She hit him in the back of the head. 

“Ow!” He exclaimed, reaching up to rub the spot. 

“No short jokes.” 

“Then quit being short.” She raised her arm to punch him. 

“Ok ok ok. Sheesh you don’t need to kill me.” 

“If I  _ wanted  _ to kill you. You’d probably be dead already.” 

“Probably?” 

“I like you sometimes.” 

“Sometimes!” 

“Yeah right now you’re kinda being a pain.” 

“I’m a pain?” She laughed, pushing off of his shoulder so she could skate ahead of him through the doorway that opened up to the gym. There was a single sheet of paper posted on the door, the JV list. 

Lucas walked straight up to the door, running his finger down the paper as he scanned for his name. 

“So when do you start?” Max asked from behind him. He swallowed, taking a deep breath before he turned around. He looked up at her, then back at the floor. He couldn’t meet her eyes.

“I...I didn’t make it.” He said quietly. 

“What?” She jumped off her skateboard and pushed past him to look for herself. 

“My name isn’t on the list.” He said, swallowing down the lump in his throat. After  _ everything _ , making new friends and being straight up bullied but still playing his best, it was just...over. 

“Lucas…” Max said when she’d finished double checking the paper. 

“You’re not disappointed?” He asked, keeping his gaze glued to his converse. 

“I am but not in  _ you.”  _ She said gently. “That’s not your fault.” 

“I knew I wasn’t good enough to play.” He mumbled. 

“Hey.” She stepped closer, making him look up at her, which was much easier now that she was shorter. “You’re a  _ good _ player, Lucas.” 

“Not good enough.” 

“Don’t say that.” She said firmly. 

“Why are you not yelling at me for not doing enough?” He burst, throwing his hands in the air. “Why are you not mad at me for failing?” She looked a little surprised, then just...sad. 

“You really thought I’d just—what? Hate you for not making a high school basketball team?” He shrugged. When she said it out loud it sounded really stupid. 

“No I just…” she was avoiding his eyes now. “I just thought you’d be disappointed that I’m not as cool as you thought.” 

“I don’t think you’re cool.” She laughed weakly. He laughed back. 

“I know.” 

“You did your best. That’s all that matters.” 

“I know.” He whispered. She looked up at him, giving him a small smile. 

“I’m still proud of you, Luke.” He felt his heart flutter. 

She was proud of him? 

“You-you are?” Instead of answering she hugged him, pulling him close and burying her face in his shoulder. He locked his arms behind her, still holding his duffle bag. 

“Thank you, Max.” He whispered. “And...it wasn’t fair of me to think you’d be that shallow. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok. I’m kinda annoying sometimes.” 

“You could say that again.” She pushed herself away from him, still smiling, moving to pick up her skateboard. 

“Guess we’d better start training for next year.” She teased. 

“As long as I don’t get  _ killed _ in the process.” 

“Sinclair!” A voice boomed. Lucas spun around, surprised to see Scott stalking down the hallway, coming straight toward him. 

“You stole my spot!” The boy yelled, shoving Lucas back and grabbing him by his shirt, which probably would’ve been effective if he wasn’t shorter by about three inches. 

_ “What _ are you talking about?” Lucas almost laughed. “I didn’t even make the team.” 

“Did you even  _ check _ the list you, dimwit?” 

“It’s  _ right  _ there.” Lucas said flatly, gesturing to the door. 

“Not  _ that _ list you wastoid. You stole my spot on Varsity!” Lucas looked at Max, his eyes going wider. 

“Varsity?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is rushed but I’m sick so I can’t really tell. This story should get more interesting when games start.   
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	5. Game 1

Three weeks after tryouts 

“Lucas! Time to go!” Max called up the stairs, checking her watch. She listened for a moment, hearing the sounds of him rushing around upstairs to get what he needed. He’d already been up there for ten minutes and she couldn’t imagine what was taking him so long. 

“I swear that boy is going to be so lost when he moves out.” Mrs Sinclair laughed under her breath, glancing at Max over her shoulder from where she stood at the kitchen sink, finishing the dirty dishes from dinner. 

“Agreed.” 

Lucas rushed down the stairs, his shorts crooked and his jersey only pulled on halfway over his head, hanging around his neck. 

“What happened to you? Did you climb in the washing machine  _ with _ your uniform?” Max asked, stepping aside as he reached the bottom. 

“Haha. Hilarious.” He said, tossing her his duffel bag and pulling the rest of his jersey over his head, before making an attempt to straighten out his shorts. 

“Hate to break it to you bud, but they’re on backwards.” Max laughed. Lucas swore, rushing into the pantry and closing the door behind him. 

_ “Lucas.” _ His mom warned. His parents didn’t like hearing him swear. 

“Yeah sorry _.” _ He automatically apologized, his voice muffled by the door. He emerged with his pants on correctly this time, holding his hands out.

“Better?” Max nodded. “Good. Have you seen my sweatpants?”

“On the couch.” Lucas rushed into the living room, returning a minute later with a pair of gray Hawkins Tigers sweatpants over his shorts, pulling on an almost identical looking hoodie over his jersey, their school logo printed on the chest. 

“C'mon we gotta go.” Max said, grabbing the car keys off the counter and tossing them to him as she shouldered his duffel bag. He caught it with one hand, moving to hold the front door open for her. 

“Bye mom!” He called into the house. 

“Bye! Drive safe! We’ll see you soon!” Mrs Sinclair called as they both rushed out the door. 

“You’re really going to be late to your first game?” Max laughed, climbing into the passenger seat and setting the duffel bag at her feet. 

“I’m  _ not _ going to be late.” Lucas answered, starting the car and pulling on his seatbelt. “I’m going to take your title of Zoomer for a little while.” 

“If you kill us, I’ll kill you again afterwards.” She informed him. “Just saying.” 

“I passed the test for a reason.” He said, shifting the car into reverse and resting his hand on the back of her chair as he pulled out of the driveway so fast he almost hit the trash cans sitting out on the curb. 

“I can see that. Did they pay you just to get  _ out _ of the car?” 

He rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away from her chair and using it to shift the car into drive as they took off faster than they should’ve down the road. 

He turned the opposite way he usually did when leaving the neighborhood, heading out toward the country road instead of going through town.

The trees speed by him way faster than thirty-five miles an hour, but if he wanted to make it to the highschool in time he had to speed a little. 

Max checked her watch. “You have to be there twenty minutes before it starts?” He nodded, keeping his eyes ahead as he flicked the turn signal and turned down a dirt path just off the side of the road. It led into a tiny neighborhood, one Lucas hadn’t even known existed until about a week and a half ago. 

“Well then you’ve got ten minutes to get there.” 

“Easy.” He said confidently. “But uh...where do I turn again?” 

Max looked out the window. “Second street. Third house on the left…there.” Lucas turned so fast she slid into the window. “Dude!” 

“I’m trying to hurry!” He objected, pulling into the empty driveway of a small red brick house. It was completely hidden from the main road, with a hedge of trees surrounding it, a wooden gate blocking the view of the backyard. The bright yellow front door opened, and Caleb stepped out onto the porch, trying to shut the door as what looked like a mini version of himself tried to push his way outside. The kids' bright blue eyes watched the two of them in the car, and Max and Lucas waved, the boy beaming as he waved his little hand back. 

“Mom!” They heard Caleb call into the house, and the little boy quickly disappeared back inside. Caleb shut the door and jumped down the concrete steps, climbing into the car just behind Lucas. 

“I think ‘mini Caleb’ wants to come.” Max teased as he shut the door. 

“Yeah. I’ve noticed.” Caleb laughed, pulling his duffel bag strap over his head and tossing it into the seat. He was wearing identical sweatpants and the hoodie to Lucas. “Stockton won’t leave me alone.” 

“Guess you’re a good big brother then.” Lucas said, looking back past him as he backed out of the driveway. “I would’ve just shut Erica in the doorway.” Max smacked his arm and he smiled. 

“Max likes Erica though, so I can’t do anything.” 

“Like you  _ could. _ She’d destroy you in a fight.” Max teased. 

“Oh I’m  _ sure.”  _ Lucas said sarcastically, glancing at Caleb in the rear view mirror and mouthing ‘no’.

“How many siblings do you have again?” Max asked, turning around to face Caleb. 

_ “Four _ younger siblings. Twin sisters that are three years younger than me and then two little brothers, six and four.”

“I don’t know  _ how _ you survive.” Lucas said, turning out of the neighborhood and heading back toward the main road. _ “Two _ sisters? Sometimes I  _ feel  _ like I have two when Max and Erica gang up on me but I can’t imagine  _ actually _ having two.” 

Caleb laughed. “No offense dude, but comparing your  _ girlfriend _ to a  _ sister _ is a little weird.” 

“Thank you!” Max said. 

“Yeah well, you try practically _ living _ with her. She never leaves.” 

“I’m not  _ that _ bad.” 

“Depends on whose side you're on at the moment.” 

“I usually take his side.” Max told Caleb. “He’s just a baby the  _ one _ time I don’t.” 

“I am not!” 

“See.” She said with a smirk. 

“May I remind you,  _ Maxine. _ That  _ I  _ am driving the car.” 

“Is that a threat?” Max challenged, leaning against the middle console. Lucas glanced at her, then at Caleb in the rearview mirror, who slowly shook his head. 

_ You’ll lose.  _ He mouthed. 

“No.” Lucas mumbled. 

“That’s what I thought.” Max said, sitting back in her chair. 

“I swear she really does love me.” Lucas said, turning back onto the country road. “She just won’t let you see it.” Max rolled her eyes. 

“In your dreams, lover boy.” She teased. Caleb laughed. He’d only been hanging out with these two for a couple weeks and it was as if they’d been his best friends all his life. 

_______________________________________

“Ok guys.” Coach Jones said, clapping his hands to get their attention. The boys all took a seat on the benches surrounding the lockers to listen. “First game. Nothing is official yet, so this is your time to  _ prove _ if you want to start or not.” Lucas may have imagined it, but he  _ swore _ the coach's gaze flicked to him for half a second. 

“For now I’m just going to put in the winning team from yesterday’s scrimmage as starters. Fair?” 

The boys all nodded, JJ caught Lucas’ eye and smiled. 

“Remember the plays we practiced these last couple weeks because I  _ will _ be calling them out for us to try them. We’re just gonna start out in a man defense so  _ communicate. _ If you get beat, call for help. If you see someone else’s man about to score, step up. We have to learn to  _ work _ as a team. We’re better than these guys. I already know we are. So let’s go out there and get our first win.” All eleven of the boys cheered. 

“Let’s get a cheer and get out there for warmups.” The boys stood up, all reaching to put their fists into the middle of the huddle. 

“Tigers on three!” Coach Jones said. “One, two, three...” 

“TIGERS!” The boys' voices echoed around the locker room, and suddenly Lucas felt full of adrenaline. He’d imagined this moment ever since he’d started wanting to play basketball, and now the moment was here. 

He took a deep breath, shaking himself out before running out of the locker room and into the gym behind Chance. 

They’d watched the freshmen and JV play their games before, but even then the gyms hadn’t been this crowded. The bleachers were full, people that couldn’t find a seat were crowding the doors so much they wouldn’t have been able to get in if it wasn’t for Chance, who shoved straight through everybody just to clear a path. 

The crowd cheered the second they entered the gym, and Lucas felt himself tense. There were so many eyes on him now, watching his every move, especially scary when you’re the point guard. He scanned the crowd, trying to find Max and his parents. 

“Hey. Don’t get nervous.” Chance said, as if reading his mind, making him jump when he appeared beside him. “It’ll only make you think more about little mistakes and mess you up a lot more.” 

“Great. Thanks.” Lucas said, blowing out a breath. Chance tossed him one of the balls he’d grabbed from their rack. 

“Don’t think. Just play.” 

“Kinda gotta think for that.” Lucas laughed. 

“You know what I mean.” Chance said, chucking the ball up from halfcourt. Lucas almost hoped it would go in, just because that would’ve been a totally cool way for his friend to end the pep talk, but he airballed completely. 

“Booooo.” JJ called to him, smiling as he tossed the ball back. 

“That  _ was _ kinda sad.” Lucas agreed, dribbling the ball a few times. Chance glared at him. 

“Ok Mr Perfect let’s see it then.” Lucas shrugged, moving to the edge of the Hawkins Tigers logo in the middle of the floor, tossing the ball like they’d done during their competition in practice the night before. The ball went a little higher than usual, but when it started falling it was a perfect path to the hoop. 

“No way.” Chance said in bewilderment. The both watched as the ball fell down, barely hitting the back iron and launching all the way to the three point line, bouncing a few times before rolling at Lucas’s feet. 

“Awwww.” The crowd groaned, as if they had been waiting for the same moment the two of them had. 

“If you had made that.” Chance said, pointing accusingly at him. “I would have left the gym. I’m  _ not _ even kidding.” Lucas laughed, and the gym went dark. 

“Show time.” Chance whispered. 

_______________________________________

“Welcome to the first Varsity home game of the seasonnnnnn.” The announcer said over the speakers, his voice echoing even over the noisy crowd in the now darkened gym. 

“For your starters today. Playing Center. Standing at 6’ 6 as a Senior. JJ Petersen!”

The gym erupted even at their student council president’s name, and JJ high fived the other starters on the bench, before high-fiving the rest of their team where they stood in two lines like a tunnel to the court, a spotlight following him to the middle of the floor. Until now Lucas wasn’t even aware they  _ had _ spotlights.

The rest of the names were a blur. 

“Playing Power Forward. A 6’ 2 Senior. Anthony Johnson!” 

“Small Forward. “6’ even. A Junior. James Evans.” 

“Your Shooting Guard. A 5’ 11 Sophomore. Jaaaaaake Riley!” The gym seemed to cheer even louder than Lucas thought possible when the announcer called the young superstars name. He sat up a little straighter when Jake patted him on the back, leaving him the only one on the bench. 

“And finally. Your Hawkins High Point Guard. Standing at 5’ 10 as a sophomore. Lucasssss Sinclair!” He got a bigger cheer than he expected, standing up and jogging between the two rows of his teammates, high fiving all of them, and meeting the starting team on the floor. 

“And now. Please stand for our National Anthem.” 

The whole gym stood, facing the giant flag that was hanging from the rafters. The marching band couldn’t have played the song any slower, and Lucas felt himself getting antsy. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to play or if he wanted to stall longer. His first time playing basketball on a team... _ ever.  _ And it was in front of the entire school. 

No pressure. 

He remembered Max telling him to focus on the game, nothing else, and he felt a little calmer. 

“Play ball!” The announcer yelled, surprising him when he realized the band had finished and the crowd started to cheer again. Lucas tore off his warm up shirt as they made their way back to the bench, handing it over to Max when she came down from where she and his family were sitting in the bleachers. 

“Good luck.” She whispered. 

“Thanks.” 

“You too Caleb.” 

“Thanks.” The curly headed boy smiled, his white warmup shirt still on over this jersey. 

Their coach drew out a game plan on his clipboard, JJ jumping (obviously) with Anthony, James, Jake and Lucas spread out in a specific pattern around him. 

“Whoever gets it, pass it to Lucas. Don’t advance until you get the ball.” Jones said, turning to him. “Survey the floor just like you did at tryouts. Don’t rush it.” Lucas nodded. 

“Play like this is tryouts. It’s the first game, there’s no pressure right now. Just go play  _ your _ game. Play like you have something to prove. Tigers on three.” Lucas glanced at JJ and Jake across from him, and they gave him an encouraging smile. 

“One. Two. Three.” 

“Tigers!” The crowd cheered as they walked out onto the floor, and Lucas took a nervous breath, jumping up and down to try to shake his nerves. He looked up at the crowd, immediately finding Max now that he knew where she was. She smiled, giving him a thumbs up. He smiled back, suddenly feeling just a little bit more confident. 

“Jump ball!” The ref called out. He was shorter than JJ by almost two feet, and standing in the middle of him and the other post jumping made him look like a kid. 

The whistle blew, and suddenly the ball was in the air. JJ, having an extra good three inches, hit the ball straight to Jake, as if on instinct from years of playing together, who passed it back to Lucas. 

He caught it, taking his first steps in a real game. He dribbled slowly, his mind not able to focus clearly with the sounds of the crowd around him. His legs felt like jello. He looked at each of the five black jerseys guarding his teammates in their similar white home jerseys, sizing them up with each other, his brain working in a matter of seconds. 

JJ had a few inches, but he wasn’t posted up yet. James couldn’t get past the three point line with how tightly his man was guarding him, and Lucas gestured for him to pull him back out to clear the floor a little more. Anthony was almost the same height as his defender, but just like JJ he hadn’t gotten a good stance to post up yet, the two posts pulling their defenders to the three point line in case Lucas had to take him man one on one. 

Suddenly Lucas caught Jake’s eye, realizing he’d been left wide open, and was cutting straight for the hoop, with no black jersey guarding him. 

The ball bounced again, and before he’d even caught it Lucas had pushed it as hard as he could with one hand, meeting Jake straight under the hoop. He went up, scoring a lay up before the other team could even register Lucas’s pass. 

The crowd went nuts, and Lucas smiled, jogging to the other side of the floor to set up. 

Game on. 

_______________________________________

Lucas wiped his face off with the towel JJ had tossed to him before they'd left the gym. He’d had  _ one _ break since the game had started, only being subbed out for thirty seconds or so before being put back in. He’d played twelve of the first sixteen minutes, and had five points and three assists already. Not bad for his first real game. 

“Hey.” He looked up, finding Max standing next to the locker room door. 

“It’s only halftime.” He said, his face scrunching up in confusion. 

“I know. I came to see if you need your water refilled. Jones asked me to help out for today until you guys find a manager.” She held up two empty water bottles. He nodded in understanding, tossing her his empty bottle. 

“Thanks.” 

“No problem. Want me to take yours Caleb?” The boy looked up, his expression changing to surprise when he didn’t expect Max to be standing there. 

“Uh what sorry?” 

“Water bottle? Want me to refill it?” 

“Oh yeah. Here.” He handed her the bottle, and she disappeared down the hall. 

“I’m glad she showed up. I was getting desperate trying to save a fourth of the bottle for the rest of the game.” Lucas laughed, throwing an arm around Caleb’s shoulders as they walked into the locker room. 

“So pretty much what I’m saying is…” Coach Jones capped his dry erase marker, turning his back on the now play-covered white board to face them. 

“You guys are playing great. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Lucas—” everyone turned to look at him. “If you need a break you let me know and we’ll get you a sub for a bit.” 

“Got it.” 

“JJ. They’re posting up on you  _ way  _ too easily. I’ve seen you hold bigger guys back.” JJ nodded. 

“I’ll fix it coach.” 

“Good. Jake, Caleb, you guys are doing good on the two-three switch, but just set those screens a little harder.” The two boys nodded. 

“Chance, I’m putting you in with the other four. I saw you guys all playing together at tryouts. I’m expecting that same energy on the court this second half. Understand, gentlemen?” The five of them nodded. 

“Ok. Let’s go out there and win this game then. Don’t let them come back.” They all stood up for a cheer. “JJ you call it.” 

“Oh ok uh.” The older boy thought for a second. “Win on three? One two three..” 

“Win!” 

They all rushed out of the locker room, eager to get back on the court. All of Lucas’ nerves were gone now, and he was so excited he almost forgot about Max. 

“Hey.” She grabbed his arm as he went by, pulling him back and handing him and Caleb their bottles.

“You’re doing good.” She said. He smiled, trying to think of how to reply. ‘Thank you’ didn’t really seem to cover it. She’d been super supportive of him ever since he’d suddenly become obsessed with the idea of playing. She’d been pushing him harder than anyone else would’ve, all because she wanted him to succeed as much as he did. 

“Lucas!” She snapped in front of his face, making him jump. 

“What?” 

“Go!” She said, shoving him towards the gym. He laughed. 

“Yeah, yeah ok. See you after the game.” He said, saluting her as he ran back into the gym. 

_______________________________________

“Chance  _ what _ is going on out there?” Coach asked once the five of them were all sitting down. Five seconds left. Tigers ball. They were down by one. 

“I don’t  _ know.”  _ Chance snapped, angrily unscrewing the cap on his plastic water bottle and tossing it over the back of the bench. 

“That was my fault. Terrible pass.” Caleb spoke up, wiping his face with the neck of his jersey. “I’ll watch out for it.” 

“They’re playing you all high. Cut to the basket.” Jones said, slapping his palm against his clipboard with each word for emphasis. “We’re gonna run Backcut.” 

The five of them nodded, all taking a drink of their water. Other than a few subs for less than a minute or so the five of them had been playing since halftime. They’d scored more when the five of them were out than any combination out of the eleven of them. 

“I want the screen to be  _ hard _ Chance. _ Do. Not. Let. Him. Past.” _ Chance nodded, setting his jaw. Lucas saw a look in his eyes he’d never seen in class or during tryouts. Chance wasn’t the same guy he was outside of basketball, the happy, joking, fun guy. Here he was focused,  _ mad,  _ he wanted to win, no matter what it took. 

“Times up. On the court!” The ref called, dribbling the ball under the basket the opponent team had just scored on. They all jogged onto the court, setting up as Chance took it out, passing it to Lucas and running to set up with the others on the other end of the court. 

“Why aren’t they doing a press?” Lucas whispered to himself. They were only down by one, with five seconds left. That was just enough time to get the ball down the court and score, so why wasn’t anyone trying to stop him. 

He watched for the other team overplaying like Coach had said, catching Caleb’s eye when he saw the person guarding him with his back to Lucas. He nodded his head, just slightly, the signal. 

Caleb faked like he was going to pop up higher for a pass, and when his defender took it he started sprinting toward the baseline, the boy guarding him too off balance to stop him now. 

Lucas passed the ball over the top of his own defender, meeting Caleb right as Chance's defender stepped up to take him, but Caleb sidestepped, and Chance was set, screening his own player to give Caleb just enough room to score. 

The ball bounced off the glass, falling cleanly through the hoop right as the buzzer sounded. The gym exploded and the team tackled Caleb in a giant hug, almost pulling him down to the ground.

Coach Jones eventually calmed them down enough to shake hands with the other team, who practically ignored them when they did anyways. 

As they left the gym Lucas couldn’t help but smile. It was everything he’d imagine it’d be, the suspense, the excitement, the friendships. He couldn’t have imagined a better team. 

_______________________________________

“Hey. Can I get a ride home?” Lucas finished pulling on his team t-shirt before looking up at Caleb, fully changed with his basketball backpack slung over his shoulder. 

“Your family’s not here?” Lucas asked, pulling in his jacket. Caleb shook his head. 

“Nope.” 

“Oh. Sorry about that dude, they missed your game winner.” 

“No it’s fine. They never really went to my basketball games in Florida either. I didn’t expect them to be here.” 

“Oh, well, Max and I are gonna go get ice cream or something, if you wanna come before you go home?” Lucas suggested, picking up his duffel bag. 

“Yeah sure. I...didn’t bring any money though.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got some cash.” 

“Thanks, I’ll pay you back.” 

“Don’t worry about it. We’re like, pretty much best friends now I’ve gotta buy you ice cream to make it official.” Caleb laughed, holding the door to the locker room open. Even though the five of them: JJ, Jake, Chance, Caleb and Lucas hung out all the time at practice after school, Caleb was the only one Lucas had really hung out with individually (besides Chance) outside of that time. 

In the past week or two he and Max had gone and unexpectedly picked Caleb up from his house four times, usually to play one on one in the park or to watch a movie at Lucas’ house. 

Max was waiting right outside the door, her arms folded across her chest as she leaned against the wall opposite the locker room. His parents had already gone home, something about having to get Erica to bed on a school night. 

_ “I’m twelve!”  _ She'd objected. 

“Ready?” Max asked, standing up straight, not even questioning Caleb being there, because it was normal now. 

“Yeah. We were thinking ice cream?” 

“If you’re paying, then yes.” Max said, moving to walk beside them as they made their way down the hallway. 

“One day you’ll owe me.” Lucas teased. 

“You’re my boyfriend. You pay anyway.” She retorted with a smile. 

“See what I have to deal with?” Lucas said to Caleb, gesturing to Max. “She’s just using me.” 

Max pushed his hand away. 

“Well if you’ve got money I might start using you too.” Caleb teased. “Mr  _ Millionaire.”  _

Lucas laughed, remembering when Chance had asked him in all seriousness if he was hiding his being a millionaire a few weeks ago at tryouts. 

“Be my guest.” Max said. “Have Lucas take you on a date instead, then you can see how  _ annoying _ he is.” 

“Hey!” Lucas objected, his mouth hanging open in offense even though there was a clear smile on his face. 

“I’ll pass.” Caleb said, pushing the door open and holding it for the two of them. It was dark outside now, the cold air biting at their skin as they made their way to the car. “So where’s the best ice cream place here?” 

Max smiled. “Oh, Skater Boy.” She said, which was a name she’d automatically given him after finding out he could skate. “Since Scoops isn’t here anymore and we can’t munch off Steve, Benny’s is the only option.” 

“She’s not wrong.” Lucas agreed. “But don’t worry, you’ll like it.” 

_______________________________________

_ The next day at practice:  _

“Everyone take a seat.” Coach said, opening the door into an empty classroom. 

“Uh oh.” JJ whispered to Lucas. “Team talks never end well.” 

“Thanks for the heads up.” Lucas said, dropping into a desk between Chance and Caleb as JJ and Jake took the seats behind them.

They’d all changed into their practice jerseys and had started practice warm ups when Coach had told them to change back into their clothes, before leading them through the empty school to a random study hall classroom. 

“Does anyone know why we’re here?” Jones asked, his expression hard to read. 

“Uh..” Anthony raised his hand. “Does this have anything to do with the body spray bomb prank I pulled on James the other day?” 

“No….?” Coach said, clearly confused. “But we’ll talk about that later.” Anthony swore under his breath, sinking down into his chair. 

“The reason we are here is because of our performance at our game last night.” His expression still suggested this wasn’t a good thing. 

“But…” Jake spoke up. “We did good. Didn’t we?” 

“Yeah. You guys did great.” Coach said, laughing. “Why do I look like I’m about to give you bad news?” 

JJ nodded. “That’s  _ exactly _ what you look like, coach.” 

“Well I’m not.” The man clarified. “But I do have something to share with you.” He pulled out the stat book, flipping to the first page. 

“Lucas.” He said. All eyes turned to him, and he sat up straighter in his chair. 

“Yes sir?” 

“Do you have any idea what your stats were last night, son?” 

“Um...no sir.” His mind mentally flashed through the first several turnovers he’d made in the first quarter. 

“Well, let me tell you then.” Coach cleared his throat. 

“In the  _ first _ half, you had 2 assists, 1 block and 5 points.” Lucas swallowed. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

“In the  _ second _ half, you had 4 assists, 1 block, 2 rebounds and  _ 6 _ points.” Coach looked up from the stat book and straight at him. 

“You played 30 out of the 40 minutes, had 11 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. You’ve never played before?” Lucas shook his head. 

“And  _ how _ did you manage to get this good in only a couple months?” Lucas suddenly felt self conscious. Eleven sets of eyes were on him now. 

“I uh, I went to a three week camp…and...Max helped me train.” 

“Max Mayfeild? Your girlfriend?” Lucas nodded again.  _ What did this have to do with anything? _

“I’ve seen her with you after practice, helping you and Caleb with free throws before you all go home.” Lucas glanced at Caleb, who gave him just as a confused look as he had on his face. 

“With that in mind, I know she pushes you, correct?” 

“Harder than anyone.” Lucas laughed. 

“Good. I've decided she’s going to be our new manager, and she’s also going to be helping me out with drills at practice. You boys better be ready to work  _ hard.”  _

“Max is our manager?” Jake asked. “She’s already agreed?” 

“Oh yeah. She didn’t even hesitate when I pulled her out of class to ask her.” 

“We’re screwed.” JJ laughed. “Which is good, I guess. If she made Lucas this good in a couple weeks then,  _ wow.  _ But we’re  _ screwed.”  _

“That’s not it.”  _ Co _ ach Jones said, interrupting their excited chatter. “We still need a captain.”

All eyes turned to Lucas. 

“What? Me?” He exclaimed. 

“Yes,  _ you.” _ Chance said. “You scored  _ 11 _ points last night. You led us through that  _ whole _ game.” 

“But I don’t know how to be the leader!” 

“You already have been.” JJ said. “You’re a natural born leader, dude. I vote Lucas as captain.” 

“Me too.” Chance agreed. 

“Same.” Caleb spoke up. 

“I’m with JJ.” Jake said. Lucas stared back at them in amazement. 

“You guys trust me that much?” The four of them nodded. 

“Well then, Lucas.” Coach said. “Get ready to lead this team, Captain.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re into the season! I won’t be doing a play by play of every game but I will be doing important ones.   
> You will be learning some of the boys stories later on just to see how they all bond with Max and Lucas.   
> Also if it’s not clear: Lucas has his license, Max and Caleb do not  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	6. Teamwork

Lucas vaulted the steps on the porch, shoving the car keys in his pocket and pushing the front door open. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were manager?” He exclaimed as soon as the door had shut behind him. 

Max looked up from her homework, sitting up a little straighter on the couch. The smells of Mrs Sinclair making dinner we’re coming from the kitchen, but Lucas couldn’t focus on the fact that it was lasagna night when Max had kept him in the dark. 

She closed her math book, standing up and walking over to him, her eyebrows scrunched together. “Since when do you come home in your school clothes and not your practice jersey?” 

“Max, don’t change the subject. Why didn’t you tell me you were manager?” 

“Because after I found out, I didn’t see you for the rest of the day.” 

“When did he ask you?” 

“Fourth hour. Right after lunch.” 

“We  _ literally _ have Study Hall fifth hour together.” He laughed. 

“Oh.” She said, seeming to realize. “Yeah. Guess I just forgot to bring it up.” 

“How do you forget?” He was still laughing, because he still couldn’t believe it.  _ Max _ was manager. He was  _ screwed.  _ She was going to mess with him and Caleb harder than anyone else and yet he still found it absolutely hilarious for reasons he couldn’t place.

_“What_ is so funny to you?” She questioned, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. 

“Nothing.” He said, making a conscious effort to keep a straight face. 

“You think I’m gonna be a bad manager?” She challenged, taking a step closer to him. 

“No. Not at all. You’re just going to absolutely  _ murder _ me.” 

“Is that a challenge?” Her eyes sparkled, a smile spreading across her face. 

“If you could keep me alive at least until Christmas so that I could get a Nintendo, I’d appreciate it but, you know. You do you.” Max snorted, shaking her head. 

“You’re such a dork.” She mumbled, moving back toward the couch. She fell down into it, picking up her Math textbook again. The worksheet didn’t look very full, and Lucas wondered how long she’d actually been working on it. Math hadn’t been getting any easier. 

“Why’re you back so early?” She asked, keeping her eyes on her homework. It was weird to think that it was no surprise to him to find her at his house after practice, just the fact that he’d called out his question without checking to see if she was there first proved his point, but it was also completely normal to him. The only time Max was really at her own house was at night, and even then sometimes he forgot she wasn’t just downstairs, because she was always there less than an hour after he woke up. 

“Coach let us go home since we played so well last night.” He answered, walking over to sit on the coffee table across from her. She nodded at his response, continuing to write her answers on her worksheet in front of her. 

“Oh also, apparently, I am now captain.” He said nonchalantly, tossing his duffel bag onto the other end of the couch. That got her attention. She looked up from her book, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open. 

“Seriously?” She asked in amazement. 

“Yeah. JJ proposed it and Caleb, Jake and Chance agreed so...” he lifted his hands in the air as if to say  _ here I am.  _

“Lucas. That’s awesome.” 

“Thanks…” He looked down at his feet, kicking at the carpet with his converse. He was vaguely aware of Max’s eyes still on him, his face feeling hot in embarrassment, though he wasn’t sure why. Her support for him was what had kept him going in tryouts and training before then, but everytime she showed it he felt undeserving. 

“Uh. Need any help?” He pointed at the textbook in her lap and she seemed to shake herself out of her surprise, nodding. 

“Proofs are literally the worst thing ever.” She scooted over so he could sit next to her, even though the rest of the couch was practically empty aside from his bag, but he sat down beside her, watching as she pointed at the problem she was stuck on, balancing the book between both of their knees. 

“Don’t expect me to be a math major.” He teased, taking her paper from her. 

“I never do.” She said, handing him the pencil. “But you know better than me.” 

_______________________________________

_ The Next Afternoon _

“I’m not sure if I want you here or not.” Lucas said as he came out of the locker room, shouldering his duffel bag. He had on his gray reversible practice jersey, without his compression shirt (for once) black shorts, and his white and red Nike’s. Ever since dinner the previous day he’d started getting more and more anxious at the fact Max would be there watching his every move, but at the same time excited, because she would be there watching his every move, which would help her give him feedback on what to improve. 

“Well whether you do or not, I’m already here.” Max laughed, moving to walk beside him. 

“Yay.” He deadpanned. She shoved him, and he laughed, stumbling back into step beside her. 

“I  _ can _ still make you run.” She pointed out. 

“If you care about me at all you won’t.” 

“Yeah, no. You can’t pull that card.” Lucas groaned, reaching his arm out to hold the gym door open for her. 

Immediately, Max almost started to regret her decision. The gym lights were on, shining down on the six boys that were already in the gym, none of which she recognized, all around Lucas’ height or  _ taller, _ scattered on the various baskets. There was a rack of basketballs, stacks of cones and some weird pad things that she wasn’t familiar with sitting next to the bleachers. The sounds of basketballs bouncing and occasionally falling through the net echoed all around her. She could tell just by the way they were all playing around that they clearly knew more about basketball then she did. The pressure started to set in, making her mouth go dry. 

“Hey.” Lucas nudged her, and she looked up at him.

“Hm?”

“Wanna help me warm up?” 

“Sure.” She nodded, following him over to one of the empty side hoops, thankful for the excuse to take her mind off the nervousness. 

“Just free throws?” She asked. He nodded, grabbing a ball off the rack. 

“For now. Yeah.” He lined up at the line, setting himself in a stance and bouncing the ball a few times, before straightening out and swishing it. Max smiled, opening her mouth to make some snarky comment when Lucas interrupted her. 

_ “Don’t _ act surprised.” He said before she could tease him. “Because I’ve been practicing these everyday.” 

“Clearly.” She said, bouncing him the ball. “Before you always looked stiff.” 

He scoffed, dribbling the ball and looking up at the hoop. “You’re not wrong.” He swished again, and Max smiled. 

“Hey!” She jumped, whipping around to see Caleb standing behind her, his hands falling from where he’d grabbed her shoulders.

He was wearing the same gray jersey as Lucas, with white shorts, undershirt and matching all-white shoes. That was one thing she’d started to notice about him. He always seemed to be wearing white when he played basketball, making his blonde curly hair and Floridian tan stand out a little more. 

“Dude.” She said. “I’m not old enough to have a heart attack. Sheesh.” 

“Get used to it.” He teased, grabbing a nearby ball and blocking Lucas’s shot before he could shoot it. “Because I will do it a lot.” 

“Careful.” Lucas warned, moving to grab his now runaway ball. “She makes you run when she’s mad at you.” 

“No I don’t!” 

“You did it with me.” He called over his shoulder. 

“That’s because you asked me to train you and when you’re the only one there you annoy me.” Lucas gestured to her, looking at Caleb. 

“Isn’t that what I just said?” 

“You said mad, not annoyed.” He shrugged, spinning the ball off the glass from where he stood under the hoop, before catching it under the net and dribbling out to the freethrow line. “Different.” 

“Wow.” Lucas said flatly, shooting the ball from midrange. 

“Hey, I’m just stating the facts.” Caleb said innocently, holding his hands up in surrender. “Besides if I disagree with Max…” he shot Lucas a look as if to say:  _ you know what happens.  _

“You guys act like I beat you up every time you disagree with me.” She laughed, passing Lucas his ball again once it fell through the hoop, bouncing at her feet. 

“You beat me up for fun sometimes.” Lucas said matter-of-factly. Max glared at him. 

“I. Do. Not!” She said defiantly. “But I  _ could _ if you keep going.” 

“Message received.” Lucas nodded, spinning around and shooting the ball off one foot when Caleb tried to block him again, somehow managing to swish his fourth in a row. 

The shill sound of the whistle cut through the noise in the gym, turning all of their attention to Coach Jones, who was standing at the halfcourt, wearing a red polo shirt and tan slacks, a silver whistle hanging around his neck and a clipboard in his hands. 

“Huddle up!” He yelled. The boys all obeyed, jogging to the half line with the balls tucked under their arms. Max hung back a little, still walking behind them but not joining the huddle. 

All eleven of the boys were present now, all wearing something similar to Caleb and Lucas, though some of their jerseys were reversed to white instead of gray. 

“We have a shorter practice today so I wanna get started as soon as possible but first—Max, come here.” She grudgingly walked over to the Coach, standing tensely next to him. She caught Jake’s eye in the crowd of boys and he smiled, making her feel a little less nervous. 

Jones set a hand on her shoulder. 

“This, as a lot of you already know, is Max. She’s a friend of Lucas’—”

“We all already know it’s his  _ girlfriend.”  _ JJ teased, nudging Lucas and making some of the boys laugh. Max felt her face get hot, and she looked down at her shoes. Yeah, it was true but eleven highschool kids all twice her height were just staring at her and it wasn't very comforting. 

“Yeah, yeah ok. Calm down. I’ve asked her to be manager, as you all know but I’ve also asked her to help me out with drills and stuff at practice so consider her the...assistant coach.” One of the boys Max wasn’t familiar with raised his hand. 

“Um, why  _ don’t  _ we have an assistant coach?” 

“Good question. I’ve never thought to hire one. Never had any use for one. Now I do. Any other questions?” 

The boy next to Lucas raised his hand. He had dark wavy hair and electric blue eyes, his gray reversible pulled over a black t-shirt and matching black shorts. Immediately just by the way Lucas had described him, she knew this was Chance. 

With him standing next to Caleb in all white made the two of them look like an angel and a devil, ready to try to influence any decisions anyone needed to make. 

“Why is practice shorter today?” Chance asked, a couple of the boys nodding in agreement. 

“It’s my wife’s birthday and frankly, I don’t want to spend it with a bunch of teenage boys. No offense.” He smiled and the boys laughed.

“But, that means you will be working harder today. Max, I’ll help you set up a station and we’ll get to work. Lucas, you and the four—” apparently Lucas knew what other four boys he was talking about because he nodded. “Will start with Max. Everyone else. You’re with me for now. We might switch depending on how things are going. Any objections?” 

Lucas raised his hand, and Max shot him a look. “Put your hand down.” She said, making a couple boys snicker as he dropped his arm, a smirk on his face. 

“See. She’s a natural. Alright boys split up.” 

_______________________________________

“How many was that?” Max asked once Lucas had passed the finishing point of the ball handling drill they were doing. 

“I’ve gone around five times.” He said, breathing heavily. “And I was the first one to test it so I’ve done one more than everyone else. Thanks to you.” There was no bite in his words, and when she looked down at him where he was leaning over catching his breath he was smiling. 

“Yeah well, I need someone to pick on. You’re my guinea pig.” 

“Caleb’s here too.” 

“Yeah but I know you the best so...kinda has to be you.” 

“I’m honored.” 

“You should be.” She said, looking down at the clipboard coach Jones had given her. They’d already done everything he’d put on her list. 

“Wanna try it with two?” She asked. Lucas’ eyebrows shot up his forehead as he stood up. 

“Two?” 

“Basketballs.” 

“Yeah, I know what you’re talking about but, two?!” 

“Yes. Two. Just try it. If you mess up it’s fine.” Lucas groaned. 

“Did you not just  _ watch _ me do the drill? I can’t even dribble with one.” 

“Not  _ yet. _ C‘mon, just try, you guys kinda already did what I was in charge of so I need you to look busy so we don’t switch.” Lucas stared back at her blankly. “Or do you want to make your girlfriend suffer through another group of random teenage boys?” 

Lucas sighed, turning toward his group. 

“Caleb!” The curly headed boy looked up from where he was bent over trying to catch his breath, having finished just right before Lucas. “Can I have your ball for a sec?” Caleb passed it to him without question. 

Lucas lined up in front of the agility ladder, balancing a ball in each hand as he looked down at it.

“How am I supposed to do this exactly?” He asked. 

“Dribble one ball on each side and do two feet in the ladder.” She instructed him. “Just try to dribble them at the same time. If you start with alternating it could be confusing.” 

Lucas blew out a breath, bending his knees as he stepped into the first section of the ladder, dropping both the balls to dribble them at the same time. At first he managed to dribble them both simultaneously with no problem, but as soon as he tried to step into the next section the right ball somehow bounced off his foot, rolling across the gym and leaving him dribbling with just his left hand. 

He stood up, facing Max. “See?” 

“You’ve just got to practice it. Especially since you’re the point guard. You’ve got to be able to dribble with both hands equally well. It’s your job to handle the ball and get it to your teammates.”

“Well maybe I shouldn’t start on a practical obstacle course.” He laughed, tossing her the ball he was holding and jogging to grab his run away one. She waited until he’d come back, before tossing him the other again. 

“Fine. Just try to do it standing in place.” She said. Lucas blew out a breath, bending down into a stance and starting to dribble both the balls at once. 

They weren’t hitting the ground at the same time, his left hand going much faster and harder because it was stronger. 

“Try doing alternating.” Max said, gesturing with her hands like she was dribbling the ball, one up and one down, switching back and forth. 

Lucas stopped bouncing the two basketballs, balancing them in his hands again. He dropped them both at the same time, but when he tried to make them go opposite ways he messed up, either losing the ball and having it roll away or accidentally dribbling them at the same time, like he was supposed to do before. 

“Here.” Max said, holding her hand out for one of the balls. He handed it to her, standing up to face her. 

“Show me how you dribble with your left hand since you’re stronger with it.” He pounded the ball against the ground casually a few times, watching her while he did it. 

“Now do your right.” This time he looked down when he first dribbled, watching the ball’s placement to make sure it was in the right spot before he looked at her, but the bouncing against the floor wasn’t as strong or coordinated as before. 

“Ok. So you need to practice with your right a little more and when you get more confident with it we can try doing both hands again. It’ll be easier if you can trust yourself.” 

“Ok. So I’m guessing that means you’re going to make me practice in the driveway?” 

“Duh.” 

“Ok boys!” Coach Jones yelled, clapping his hands to get all of their attention. Chance and Jake were locked in a close shadow boxing match, totally oblivious to what was going on as the others made their way to halfcourt. 

“Jacobs! Riley!” The two whipped around toward the coach’s voice, finally noticing everyone else had left. “Let’s go. Up and Back!” 

The two boys sighed, sprinting from one end of the court to the other, before meeting the rest of them in the huddle. Max was slightly impressed that they weren’t even out of breath. 

“We’re gonna end practice with a scrimmage and maybe free throws. Max, you can just watch this time but further in the season I may need help reffing.” She nodded, showing she understood. 

“Ok! If I call your name you're on white, which means you’ll probably need to switch your jersey since most of you are in gray. Lucas—” someone cat-whistled, and Lucas rolled his eyes, quickly stepping away from the huddle to take off his jersey and flipping it around, before just as quickly putting it back on. Max caught Caleb’s eye, who was smirking at her. 

“What?” She mouthed. 

“You know what.” He mouthed back. She shook her head, and Caleb pretended to take off his jersey in the most dramatic way, then made a flexing gesture, before pointing at Lucas. Max rolled her eyes. 

“No I wasn’t.” She mouthed. 

“Suuuuuure.” 

“-Chance—” luckily Chance was wearing an undershirt with his jersey, so Caleb couldn’t tease her this time when he took it off, though she knew he probably wouldn’t let it go anytime soon. It’s not like she’d been staring at Lucas, she’d just so happened to look over at him at the exact moment.

Soon the teams were split into two, with one team having a substitute. 

“Five minutes on the clock!” Coach told them. “I’m not going to be coaching at all. The Point Guards for each team—Lucas and Caleb—you guys are in charge of calling plays and setting up defenses. You’re the coaches here. JJ, Chance line up for jump ball.” 

_______________________________________

The thing was, in the past three weeks, Max had never  _ once _ seen Caleb and Lucas mad at each other. She’d seen Lucas mad during basketball, whether it was training with her or in a real game, or with Mike or Dustin when they got into dumb arguements, she’d even seen Caleb get really pissed at their first game, but never once had it been at each other. 

During the scrimmage they'd started to get more and more annoyed with each other, eventually going as far as to intentionally foul the other. Coach had told them to control it, and they’d quit fouling, but she knew both the boys well enough to know they wanted nothing more than to tackle each other, both of their game play becoming more and more aggressive. 

Now, Lucas had called Isolation, which was when everyone cleared their man out to make space for a point guards to go one on one, with less than thirty seconds left on the clock. Caleb hadn’t even reacted to the call, keeping his eyes glued on Lucas’ every move, calculating everything. 

Lucas jabbed left, but Caleb didn’t bite, instead opening up like they’d done during defensive slides the first day of practice. 

Since Lucas wasn’t as strong with his right hand, Caleb kept using it to his advantage, forcing him to go right instead of left. Lucas kept spinning, or doing a dribble move to get it to his left, but Caleb made sure to make it hard on him every time. 

“Ten seconds!” Coach called. Max sat up a little straighter, no matter what the outcome this was going to be an awkward car ride home, but she kinda wanted to see how it would end. 

Lucas backed the ball up, pulling further out from the three point line, faking like he was going to shoot and when Caleb followed, jumping to block him, Lucas sprinted, catching the boy off guard as he tried to catch up, losing his center of balance. JJ moved down to help cover Lucas, leaving Chance wide open at the three point line. 

“Open!” Chance yelled, but either Lucas didn’t hear or didn’t care, going straight up against JJ. Max knew he wouldn’t make it even before the sound of JJ swatting the ball away echoed around the buzzer. 

“Away team wins!” Their coach announced. Lucas tossed the ball against the wall in frustration. 

“Huddle up and then we can go.” Jones said, tossing his clipboard onto the bleachers. Max stayed where she was, watching the boys surround the man. 

“First of all,” he started. “That was one of the closest games I’ve ever seen, and Caleb and Lucas, I think it’s because of how mad you got at each other. Lucas, what made you mad in the first place?” 

Lucas set his jaw, the arm holding the ball tensing, his muscles twitching just barley under the bright light that she was probably the only one that noticed. “That he kept forcing me right and taking advantage of my weak hand.” 

“Good, and Caleb?” 

“That he kept finding a way to get me off balance and getting enough space to shoot.” Caleb said, his jaw set similarly to Lucas, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took, his forehead beaded with sweat. 

“Exactly. You guys found the others weakness, and used it. Now, it may have led to some fouling, which you need to learn to control, because the more mad you get the more you will foul or make stupid plays. It’s just a fact. Lucas, at the end there, did you even realize Chance was wide open?” 

“No.” Lucas said, looking over at Chance. 

“And why was that?” 

“I was too focused on scoring on Caleb that I wasn’t paying attention to my team.” Lucas said, shooting Chance an apologetic look. 

“Good. I know it’s the beginning of the season, but that’s something we need to work on:  _ teamwork. _ And teamwork starts with team chemistry, so to help with that, before every home game we’re going to do a team dinner, I’ll need some people to sign up. I don’t have a list but I will get it to you. Spending time together outside of practices will build relationships with each other, and you’ll be able to trust one another during games. Got it?” 

The boys all nodded. “Got it.” They echoed. 

“Good. I have to get going. I’ll see you boys tomorrow, and remember, don’t let your emotions control the game you play, ok? Let’s get a cheer and get out of here.” The boys all stepped together. 

“Teamwork on three. 1...2...3…” 

“Teamwork!”

Max watched them leave towards the locker room. She saw Caleb slap Lucas on the back and then Lucas ruffle his curly hair, before throwing his arm over his shoulder as the two of them disappeared into the locker room. 

“Boys.” She mumbled, standing up and throwing her backpack over her shoulder. 

_______________________________________

Max was mad at Lucas’ Uncle Jack. Until he’d showed up out of the blue she’d been having fun playing board games with Lucas and Erica, but now she was stuck at home with her mom. 

She wasn’t  _ really _ mad, she liked Jack, he'd even insisted she’d stayed, but she knew Lucas would want some time with his uncle, especially when he was so determined to beat him in a pickup game of basketball in the driveway, so she’d made up some excuse to go home. Now, instead of dominating in Clue, she was sitting on the couch with a plate of Oreos, watching MTV, but was bored out of her mind. 

“How was school today?” Her mom asked, trying to start yet another conversation. 

“Fine.” Max answered shortly, pulling one of her Oreos apart. 

“Anything interesting happen?” 

“Nope.” Her mom sighed and gave up, turning back to her romance novel with someone on the cover who looked disturbingly like Steve. Max avoided looking at it, because she did  _ not _ need that image in her head. 

The phone rang suddenly, breaking the two out of their awkward silence. No one ever called them, but Max got a weird feeling she should be the one that answered. 

“I got it.” She said a little too quickly, ignoring the weird look her mom gave her as she stood up and crossed the room, taking the phone off it’s hook on the wall. 

“Hello?” 

“Max!” It took her a second to register the relieved voice coming through the phone. 

“Caleb?” 

“Yeah.” His voice seemed heavy, not the normal cheerfulness she’d heard less than a couple hours ago when she and Lucas had dropped him off. 

“What’s up?” She asked. 

“Ok. I know this is going to sound really weird but, can you...come get me?” 

“From your house?” She asked. 

“Uh, no. I’m uh…kinda at the gas station just outside of town.” Her eyes widened. 

“The one like three miles away from your house?” She said in a hushed whisper just in case her mom was eavesdropping. 

“Yeah.” 

“Why are you there?” 

“I...may have run away.” She felt her throat go dry. 

“Why?” She swallowed. 

“Listen. I’m on a pay phone. I can’t talk very long but I need someone to come pick me up. Please.” 

She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at her mom, who was watching her expectantly.

“Ok. But you’d better have some kind of explanation.” She said quietly, turning away again. 

“I will. I promise just...please come.” 

“Ok. I will.” 

“Bye M—” the line went dead, and she knew he'd run out of paid time. The pay phone at the gas station only ran for about two minutes before cutting off. 

“Bye.” She said, just so he mom wouldn’t be suspicious about her hanging up so suddenly. 

“Who was it?” 

“Just a friend.” She said simply. “They’ve missed the last couple days of school and were wondering if I could take them some notes.” Secretly she was impressed with herself for coming up with an answer so quickly, and a believable one at that. 

“Honey it’s only like thirty degrees out, you can’t ride your skateboard this late.” She almost mentioned to her mom that she’d ridden her skateboard much later and in much colder weather, but then she remembered the gas station was clear outside of town, and she couldn’t help Caleb with a skateboard. 

“Yeah, about that. Could I take the car?” Her mom's eyes widened. 

“You don’t have your license Max.” 

“I know, but my friend lives on the other side of town, plus Steve’s been helping me practice for my test, and I’ve gotten pretty good. Besides, I’ll take the back roads where there’s no cars.” That wasn’t necessarily a lie but it also wasn’t the truth. Steve had let her drive home once, and she really wasn’t bad, but Lucas had been the one helping her learn, not Steve. 

Her mom looked stuck somewhere between worried and constipated. Max was glad Neil was working late tonight, he would’ve shut down her idea immediately. “I don’t know, sweetie, maybe I should come with you.” 

“No!” Max said quickly, her mom looked a little taken-aback. 

“Why not?” She thought quickly. She couldn’t have her mom come, that would raise too many questions. One, who was this boy and how did she know him? Two, why were they going to meet him at a gas station outside of town if they had to take homework to her friend? And three, where were his parents and why was he alone? If she knew her mom those three questions alone could lead to hundreds more, even though it was nothing like that. 

“B-because what if Neil comes back, and no one's home. Don’t you think he’ll be a little concerned?” She blurted out, the words sounding pretty lame to her when they came out of her mouth. Her mom bit her lip, looking around the room like Neil was already there, hiding in the shadows. 

“I’ll be back before nine-thirty.” Max said quickly, glancing at the clock on the wall in a last desperate attempt. That left her a little less than an hour, and if she didn’t hurry Caleb would be there all night. 

“And you promise not to use the main road?” Her mom asked, finally starting to give in like Max knew she eventually would. It was selfish but Max knew her mom would let her do anything just so they could be closer. 

“I promise.”

“This is a one time thing.” Her mom said. “Don’t expect me to—”

“I know. I won’t. Thanks!” Max said, grabbing the car keys off the hook next to the door. 

“Max!” She froze, turning around slowly, her fingers clutching the car keys in her hand tightly. “Jacket.” Her mom said, pointing at the coat rack where her zip up was hanging. 

“Oh...yeah. Thanks.” She said, letting out a silent breath of relief as she grabbed her jacket and slipped out the front door before her mom could change her mind. 

_______________________________________

The problem was: Max had never learned to drive at night, and that was something she’d never told her mom. Lucas had let her drive his car after he came home from practice sometimes, when the sun was getting lower and they were in an abandoned parking lot or something, but even then there was still a little light. It wasn't even quite winter yet but it was still darker outside than she wouldn’t have expected until almost ten o’clock. 

Everytime a car passed her on the opposite side of the road, she’d tense, moving the car as far over to the side of the road as possible without going off for fear of getting hit. One time she’d been temporarily blinded by a car with such bright lights she’d almost missed the turn she was supposed to take. 

The gas station was normally ten minutes from her house with Billy driving, fifteen if it was Lucas, but with all the blinding lights, slow speeds and inexperience she made it in no less than twenty five. 

The bright blue and red lights of the convenience store brought some comfort when she pulled into a parking space, bathing everything around her in light, a nice change from the darkness she’d driven through. 

She didn’t see Caleb, so she turned off the car and climbed out of the small station wagon, shoving her hands in her jacket pocket for some warmth. Her breath was a puff of white in front of her, and she could already feel her face getting colder. 

There was a crowd of what looked like several homeless men and women crowding the front door, all smoking and drinking heavily while they glared in her direction. It didn’t occur to her how much scarier the gas station was at night until a chill went down her spine, and it wasn’t from the cold. 

She jumped when a car honked from behind her, turning just in time to move out of the way of a truck packed full of high school boys, laughing as the car roared past her. 

“Are you lost?” One of them called in a fake genuine voice, the rest of the boys laughing creepily. She wanted to flip them off and tell them to leave her alone, but the only place she had to retreat was the store, where they could easily follow her, and she wasn’t ready to try to out drive them. 

“Max!” She turned back towards the store just in time to see a blur of curly blonde hair before they crashed into her, his arms wrapping tightly around her. 

“Caleb.” She said, blowing out a breath of relief as the car of boys made a u-turn and pulled out of the gas station, speeding down the road almost as fast as Billy would’ve. Even the crowd by the door seemed to back off at the sight of Caleb with her. 

“Thanks for coming.” He mumbled into her shoulder. It took a moment for her to realize he was crying. She’d never seen Caleb cry, not even when he’d been trying to teach her a new skateboarding trick and had sprained his wrist the day before his first game, or when someone at the park had decked him so hard during a pickup game that he’d had to sit out just to catch his breath. He wasn’t the type of boy that cried when he got hurt, he seemed too tough for his age, but now, he was breaking down, with only her to hold him to reality. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, instinctively rubbing his back like she did with Lucas. 

“Long day.” He said simply, as if telling her this wasn’t a good place to talk about it. 

“Should we go?” He nodded, pulling away from her and wiping at his eyes, letting her finally get a good look at him. His blonde hair was wet, as if he’d showered recently, and he was wearing a gray hoodie, jeans and black converse, with a backpack thrown on over his shoulders. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she got a glance at what looked like a small bruise on his cheekbone before he pulled his hood on around his face. 

“Are you ok?” She asked. He shook his head. 

“No. But I don’t want to talk here. Someone might know my parents.” She nodded in understanding, shoving her hands back into her jacket pockets and starting to lead him back to the car. 

It was no more than a few yards away, but the defending silence between the two of them made it feel like miles. 

“I’m just warning you.” She said as they climbed in. “I don’t have my license.” Caleb laughed weakly, but it seemed forced. That wasn’t normal. 

“Where do you want to go?” She asked, starting the car. 

“Home.” He answered immediately, his voice raspy as he looked out the window. “I’ll explain everything on the way there.”

Max pulled out of the parking lot, the two of them agreeing to take the long way back to give Caleb enough time to explain. 

“So, after you and Lucas dropped me off, my mom had just finished dinner.” He started. “I ate as soon as I got home, and then showered after. When I got out of the shower, my dad was home from work. He never gets home until around like ten or so, so he was really early. It sounded like he was arguing with someone, and he was yelling,  _ a lot _ .” Max glanced at him, but his gaze was still glued ahead, staring at the road in front of them. 

“I started to head down the hallway into the living room to check who it was, but one of my sisters pulled me into their room when I passed their door. The rest of my siblings were huddled together in there, so I knew he was arguing with my mom.” 

“Does that happen a lot?” Max couldn’t help but ask. “The arguing?” 

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah it’s been happening a lot, especially ever since we moved from Florida. But he started a lot of fights there too. That’s partly why he’s never home.” 

“Partly?” 

“That’s where the rest of the story happens.” He continued. “I...I caught my dad cheating a couple weeks before we moved, saw him kissing some random lady at the store while I was getting groceries for my mom. He should’ve been at work, but he wasn’t. He said if I told my mom I was dead.” A few tears rolled down his cheek, but Caleb quickly swept them away. Max pretended not to notice. 

“He was yelling at my mom for something stupid, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. I told my siblings to stay in the room, no matter what happened, and then I left.” 

“You ran away?” 

“No. I went to the living room, they stopped arguing the second I came in. My mom looked terrified that I’d walked in, my dad just looked pissed. I asked what was going on and my mom told me it was nothing, that I should go back to my room, but my dad said if I wanted to know so badly that I should.” He swallowed, and Max flicked the turn signal, turning down another random road, mostly to give herself an excuse not to look at him. 

“He said he wanted to move again, I don’t know if he meant away from Hawkins or not but he wanted a bigger house, said we were all too crowded, but that my mom was being stubborn and selfish with our money and wanted us to stay. He started to blame her for everything, said she was tearing the family apart and I accidentally let it slip that I’d caught him cheating.” Caleb leaned his head back against the headrest, blowing out a breath. Max kept quiet, letting him continue on his own time. 

“My dad said I was lying, but the story just came out and my mom believed me, then she started to question him. He just ignored her and said me and him were going to have a talk, and told me to get in the car. My mom told me not to but I was trying to be brave so…” his voice faltered and Max glanced at him, but his gaze was still glued to the ceiling. 

“So you did what he said?” She offered. Caleb nodded. 

“He—he didn’t come out for awhile, so I just had to sit by myself for a while, trying to decide whether what I did was the right thing or not...but when he did come out he climbed into the car and threw this bag at me and wouldn’t tell me what it was for. He started driving really fast, and when he left town I started to panic a little. I thought he was kidnapping me or something, or that he was actually going to kill me. He didn’t say a word until we were at the gas station, and said that if I ever butted into his love life again I’d regret it, and  _ I’d _ be the one that ruined the family and that my mom would never forgive me. He said next time he wouldn’t be so easy on me, and told me I was walking home. Then he left, but since I just moved here—”

“You had no idea where to go.” 

“I didn’t even know where to start.” He admitted, laughing bitterly. “I didn’t know what to do.” 

“Why’d you call me?” She wondered out loud. “Why not Lucas?” 

“I knew you’d understand.” He said quietly. “You’d know exactly what I felt. You’d know what to do. No offense to Lucas, he’s a great guy, but his family isn’t…” 

“Messed up?” Max offered. “Yeah. They’re pretty perfect.” 

“Yeah.” The two of them fell into silence, Caleb occasionally shifting his position in an attempt to make himself more comfortable with limited leg space because of his backpack at his feet. Max had never realized the reason Caleb never had a car in his driveway might be because his dad was always missing from his life, or causing problems when he was actually there. It was hard to think someone like him, who’d grown up with almost the same lifestyle as she had, in a hot, crowded place, with fighting parents and skateboarding as their only getaway, had turned out so differently from her. He was always so nice to everyone, he never got in arguments and was always having fun. She’d always thought he was like that just because he had the patience of being the oldest, or because his family was perfect like Lucas’s, but now she couldn't help but realize it was so much more than that. 

“It sucks.” She finally said, turning back onto the main road that led to his house. “All the fighting and arguments.” Caleb nodded in agreement. 

“When my parents got divorced I was so scared, but also kind of relieved at the same time, because I knew the fighting would stop.” 

“Sometimes I wish they’d just hurry up and get a divorce but…” He shook his head. “I know that’d be hard on everyone. Especially my mom.” 

“Yeah, but you’re a good kid, Caleb.” Max said, turning onto the dirt road that led into his neighborhood. “Your mom is lucky to have you taking care of your siblings and helping out around the house. It was really brave to stand up to your dad like that.” 

“Really?” He asked, a hint of hopefulness in his voice as he finally turned toward her. She nodded. 

_ “Really. _ That took guts. Most people wouldn’t have tried to help.” She pulled into his driveway, relieved to find there still wasn’t a car there. She wasn’t sure how she would’ve reacted if his dad had been waiting for him. 

“One more thing.” She said quickly. Caleb turned toward her. “That bruise on your face? Is that from your dad?” 

He tensed, reaching up to brush his fingers against his cheek, wincing slightly. “No, some drunk idiot was mad I grabbed the last Dr Pepper at the gas station. Had some kind of graduation ring and it cut my cheek when he shoved me out of the way.” 

“You ok?” She asked, turning his face by the side of his hoodie to get a better look at it. 

“Yeah, might have a nasty bruise tomorrow but otherwise it’s fine.” 

“Ok. Ice it tonight and it should go down a lot, it won’t be as red and noticeable.” 

“Thanks Max.” He whispered, starting to collect his backpack. “I’m glad we’re friends.” 

“Me too.” She smiled. “Be safe. Ok?” 

He nodded, reaching for the door handle, and swinging his legs out of the car, but froze before shutting the door. 

“Hey Max?” He asked, bending down to look through the open door. 

“Yeah?” 

“Would you mind not mentioning this to anyone else? I mean you can tell Lucas so he doesn’t murder me for stealing you from him for awhile but...no one else?” 

She laughed. “You didn’t steal me from Lucas. His uncle stole  _ him.  _ But I won’t tell anyone else. I promise.” He smiled. 

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” 

“Get ready to run!” She teased. He laughed, this time back to his normal easygoing way, shutting the door and waving goodbye to her as he jogged up the driveway, climbing the stairs and disappearing into the darkness of his house. 

Max glanced at the clock on her dashboard, swearing under breath: 9:23, seven minutes to get home. 

“Zoomer.” She muttered, smiling to herself as she pulled out of Caleb’s driveway and sped off down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s that, some of Caleb’s backstory. This story will be going into some more depth with some of the characters as this story goes on. I was hoping I would end this story in only 10 chapters but i didn’t realize how long they would be so it could be longer. I guess we’ll see.  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	7. Chemistry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile. I fully intended to post yesterday but completely forgot. Also this chapter is unnecessarily long so sorry about that too.

The next couple days went on as normal, aside from the fact that Max had been hanging out with Lucas, Caleb, JJ, Jake and Chance everyday after practice until they had to go home, which was ending up to be a lot more fun than she’d initially thought. 

When Lucas had first told her all four of the boys were coming to his house for dinner the same night she’d been staying too, she’d been hesitant, but after spending the rest of the night with them, they’d all discovered Coach’s advice to be right; hanging out built relationships and trust much faster than just talking at practice. 

And there were  _ way _ more interesting things to talk about than at practice. 

Max had recently come to find out several things about each of the boys, including Chance being the youngest, and only kid living at home. JJ was terrified of spiders, which was actually really funny considering he was 6’ 5, and Jake absolutely  _ hated _ the smell of pepper, to the extent that it made him gag. 

Even with the other boys always around, Max had still managed to find time to explain Caleb’s story about his dad to Lucas, but didn’t mention it to anyone else, as promised. 

Just like she’d predicted Lucas had immediately connected Caleb’s dad to the bruise on his face like she had, but he’d calmed down after he realized his friend had just been mugged over a can of Dr Pepper instead. 

Caleb continued to be his normal, happy self, complete with giving her daily heart attacks by scaring her whenever he could. The bruise on his face had gone down exceptionally since he’d iced it(which he’d thanked her profusely for) making it barely noticeable if you didn’t know to look for it. 

Practices were going longer and getting more difficult and tiring for the boys, but they were only getting stronger from it. Max pushed the five of them in her group harder than the other boys without meaning to, but she hardly did anything with the others anyways. It seemed that Coach trusted her to build the boys' skills and trust in each other since they were all the starters. 

Today she’d had to supervise while the five of them all played one on one against each other, ‘King of the Court’ style. The winner was exempt from running afterwards, and she was pleasantly surprised when Chance came out as the victor, handling the ball like his previous position of a guard instead of a post, putting up a good fight against Lucas and Caleb especially. Jake had started to catch up in points, but Chance’s defense had managed to hold him down until they’d been called to practice plays. 

The six of them were supposed to go hangout at JJ’s house after practice ended today, but Max really didn’t know if that offer was still going to stand, considering all five of the boys looked as if they were about to puke or pass out at any moment. 

The team had played two more home games after their first game, winning the second and losing the third, and now, in the second week of the season, they were a day away from their first away game. As a result of losing their last game, Coach Jones hadn’t left any room for error or messing around in today’s practice. 

“Lucas. Another up and back let’s go!” He yelled, Lucas had tried to shoot an impossible shot instead of passing it out, which was a very common mistake but also a very frequent one that he kept making. Without any hesitation Lucas dropped the basketball he was holding and started to run. 

“You guys have  _ got _ to learn discipline!” Coach continued as Lucas sprinted from one side of the court to the other, his skin shiny with sweat by the time he stopped at his spot at the head of the three point line again, leaning against his knees to catch his breath as he listened. 

“If you make a mistake on offense in a game, you better hustle your butt to get back on defense and get a stop. Is that clear?” The boys nodded, all panting for breath. It wasn’t just Lucas that had had to run today. 

“Good. Because if you  _ don’t _ you will regret practice the next day.” Coach promised, looking around at all of them. “I’m sick of watching you just stand there and let the other team get an easy fast break score when they strip the ball from you. Run through 3&2 again. Full speed.” 

Lucas took the ball from his teammate acting as point guard on the other team, backing up toward half court to let the other boys set up the play. 

“3&2!” He called, starting to dribble to the left as Jake cleared out of his position on the right side of the court, Lucas pushing Caleb out of his at the same time. Jake ran down the baseline to help JJ set up a double screen as Caleb ran across the baseline, getting their defenders tangled up. 

As Caleb came off the screens, Lucas crossed the ball over to his other hand, quickly moving to the right and losing his man in the process. Caleb sprinted to the three point line, catching Lucas’s pass and shooting a three the second it had touched his hands, his defender making an attempt to block even though he was too far out of position. The ball arched high, banking in off the backboard. 

Jones blew the whistle to signal the end of the play, and Lucas high fived Caleb. “Nice shot.” 

“Thanks.” Caleb said, completely out of breath. 

“Line up on the baseline.” Coach yelled, not sounding happy. Lucas started to jog with the rest of the team, purposely turning to catch Max’s eye as he did so. The look on his face told her he knew they were in trouble. 

“We’re doing a new drill for free throws. Usually you guys have to make  _ ten _ for us to finish practice, but since we’re running late we’ll do five today. I'll call a random shooter up. If you miss the first one, you can have everyone run an up and back  _ or,  _ you can risk another shot. If you miss the second one, the whole team runs a ladder, but if you make it, you won’t have to run at all for that turn. Fair?” The boys all nodded, trying to catch their breath from running the play before having to run again. 

“Making your free throws when you’re tired is a key part to the game. If we’re down by two points, and  _ Lucas—” _ Max saw him tense when the Coach gestured to him, making him stand up a little straighter. “—gets fouled on the shot with three seconds left in the fourth quarter, what does he  _ have to do?”  _

“Make his free throws.” Everyone said in a monotone. 

“Exactly. You  _ have _ to make your free throws. You  _ have _ to. Part of the reason we lost our last game was because we missed so many free throws. We have got to get better at this. JJ, you’re up.” JJ jogged to the free throw line, their coach moving to stand under the hoop at the same time, bouncing him the ball as the rest of the boys set up in a running stance. 

“You don’t think he’s gonna make it?” Coach smirked. The boys all looked at one another, confused. 

“You’re already setting up to run, you don’t have confidence in JJ?” 

“We’re just getting ready in case he misses.” Jake spoke up. 

“Yeah, but if even if he does, you’re just gonna run? You’re not gonna trust him to make the second shot?” The boys all stood up. 

“Remember what I said about teamwork. You have to have confidence in each other. You  _ all _ should have  _ one hundred percent _ confidence in JJ that he  _ will _ make this shot.” 

They all nodded in understanding, Coach looking around at all of them. “If you guys don’t believe in him what makes you think he’s gonna believe in himself?” 

“Let’s go J!” Jake yelled, starting to catch on. 

“Yeah, let’s go JJ!” Chance said, clapping his hands together as he joined in with Jake. 

“Cmon JJ you got this!” Lucas and Caleb yelled, the rest of the team following suit as they all started to cheer for their teammate. Coach nodded, apparently satisfied with their reactions. 

JJ took a deep breath, bouncing the ball a few times, then looked up at the rim. He straightened out, his right hand flicking down as he released the ball. 

It bounced off the back iron, shooting back towards him, bouncing at his feet and into his hands. JJ tensed. 

“Now, do you want to shoot another one? Or would you rather not risk it and have everyone run now?” Their coach asked. JJ looked over at the other four boys, as if silently asking them a question. They knew he wasn’t as confident in his free throw shooting since he was a post, he could do it, but not as well under pressure. 

“Uh…” 

“When you miss again they have to run.” Coach said. 

“Uh...don’t you mean  _ if?”  _ JJ asked. Coach shrugged. “Uh—”

“You’ve got it JJ.” Chance said confidently, helping him out. “Just focus on the hoop.” 

“But if I don’t make it, you guys—”

“You  _ will _ make it.” Jake said, his statement as confident as Chance’s has been. “Just remember what Max was telling us yesterday.” 

At the mention of her name they all turned to look at her, and she nodded in JJ’s direction. The day before they’d all stayed afterwards so that they could practice free throws, Max giving them the same pointers she had to Lucas. 

“You’ve got it.” She said. JJ blew out a breath as he set up again, some boys tensing as if getting ready to run, but Caleb, Lucas, Chance and Jake all watched JJ with confidence, standing up straight. 

JJ shot the ball, everyone watching as it bounced around the rim a couple times before falling through the hoop. 

“Atta boy!“ Chance said, clapping his hands. 

JJ smiled as he jogged back to his spot on the baseline, high fiving each of them as he passed. 

“See how much the support of your teammates can help?” Coach asked. “JJ when I said I knew you would miss how did you feel after that?” 

“Like you had no faith in me.” 

“Exactly. But who spoke up against me?” 

“Chance.” 

“Even if your Coach or your parents don’t believe in you, your team always will. You guys have each other’s back, you’re brothers, and JJ? I did have confidence in you, I promise.” JJ clapped Chance on the back. 

“Thanks dude.” 

“Ethan, you’re up.” Coach said, making a mark on his clipboard. A sandy headed boy Max hadn’t really met yet stepped up to the line, easily draining his free throw without any real effort. 

“Good. Riley!” Jake jogged onto the floor without any hesitation, going through his routine before swishing his shot, already walking back to his spot when the ball went through the hoop, catching it underneath. It wasn’t really a surprise to anyone he’d made it. If anything it would’ve been more of a surprise if he’d missed. 

Sometimes Max forgot that he’d been on the JV team since the seventh grade, most of these things came easily to him, and it shone clearly through his confidence

“Noah!” One of the other boys Max wasn’t really familiar with stepped up, he had cleanly cut wavy black hair, similar to Jake’s but darker, shaved on the sides. He was quiet, she wasn’t sure she’d ever really heard him talk before. 

Noah took a deep breath, the ball clearly slipping from his hands as he released it, bouncing off the front of the rim.

“Take another one. You’re good.” JJ spoke up, sounding like he was back to the leader he usually was now that he wasn’t shooting. Max saw Lucas glance over at him guiltily, like he was mentally cursing himself for not encouraging his team as the captain. 

Noah set up again, bouncing the ball twice before standing up, flicking his wrist down. The ball rolled around the rim, teetering on the edge before falling out at the last second. 

“Baseline!” Coach called as Noah ran back to his spot, the boys next to him high fiving him, telling him he’d get it next time. 

“One ladder. Don't be the last.” He looked around at all the boys, each set up in their stances. “Go!” 

All eleven boys reached the free throw online at pretty much the same time, but when they touched the baseline and turned again that’s when they all started to split. 

The fastest on the team were Lucas, Chance and Jake, with Caleb close behind, but the three of them always raced, it was an unspoken rule that had formed between them through each practice. Lucas and Chance reached the half court line at the same time, Jake touching it seconds after. They all sprinted back to the baseline, Jake letting out a laugh as he pulled ahead of Chance, spinning around along with Lucas. 

Chance swore loudly as he slipped, and Caleb laughed as he reached the line at the same time, the two of them now sprinting as hard as possible to try to catch Jake and Lucas, as well as beat each other. 

Jake made it to the other side of the court first, reaching down to touch the line and spinning around right as Lucas met him. The two of them pushed as hard as possible, passing Caleb and Chance at the nearest free throw line. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas could see a blur of Jake’s brown hair just beside him, and he willed his legs to move faster. He poured in every last bit of strength left, completely forgetting about how tired he’d felt before. 

The two crossed the line, both slowing down to a stop before they could run into the wall, Chance right behind them, followed by Caleb. 

“I would’ve won if I hadn’t slipped.” Chance panted, bending over to catch his breath. 

“Holy crap, I’m gonna pass out.” Jake said, lacing his hands behind his head. “Are you getting faster?” He questioned Lucas. 

“Are  _ you?” _ Lucas retorted. “Who won?” Jake shrugged. Lucas turned to Caleb and Chance, who both shook their head. 

He looked across the gym, meeting Max’s eyes where she sat on the bleachers.

“Who won?” He mouthed. 

“Chance. Your turn!” Coach said, breaking them out of their own little world. 

“Later.” Max mouthed back. He nodded, turning back to the basket as he struggled to catch his breath. 

Unlike JJ, Chance was a pretty good free throw shooter for a post, because when he was younger he’d played as the small forward, so he was used to getting lots of midrange shots up. 

Just like all the rest of his free throws, this time wasn’t any different; he swished his shot as easily as Jake had, jogging back to the line, still out of breath. 

“Caleb.”

Caleb blew out a breath as he took his spot at the free throw line. For some reason, he could make threes with ease, but when he was standing still, with the pressure of knowing it was an easy shot, he missed a lot more than he made. 

“Focus just in front, Caleb.” Lucas reminded him, gesturing to the rim. “You got it.” 

Caleb nodded, sucking in a breath and focusing on the rim as he dribbled. He blew out the breath as he released the ball, the sound of it perfectly bouncing off the back iron and into the hoop forcing out a breath of relief as he jogged back to his spot next to the rest of them. 

“Nice job.” Jake said, clapping him on the back. 

“Lucas. You’re up.” He jogged to the free throw line, his legs still feeling a little like jello from running. 

“No pressure, but if you make this we’re done.” Coach said, bouncing him the ball. Lucas nodded, bouncing the ball at his feet. He could vaguely hear his friends encouraging him, but they sounded far away as he focused on the rim. He sucked in a breath, shooting the ball confidently. 

A little  _ too _ confidently, because he completely airballed it. He felt his face heat up when he heard a familiar laugh. 

“You got cocky!” Max called to him from across the gym, making Caleb snort in laughter, disappearing to hide behind Chance. 

“Shut up!” He called over his shoulder, taking the ball as Coach bounced it to him again, a small smile sneaking onto his face, though he was better at hiding it than his friends. 

“You too.” Lucas said, pointing at Caleb, who gave him an innocent look like  _ what’d I do? _

Lucas blew out a breath, bouncing the ball as he focused on the rim. 

“Just in front.” He whispered to himself. “Just in front.” He sucked in a breath and stood up, flicking his wrist down as he released the ball. It hit the front of the rim, before bouncing around a few times. It balanced right on the edge like Noah’s had, and Lucas leaned to the side, like he could direct the ball with his mind, but he wasn’t El so obviously he couldn’t. 

The ball luckily fell through the hoop, and Lucas threw his head back in relief when his team started clapping now that practice was over. He wasn’t sure he could win another race against Jake again, and he didn’t need to ruin his reputation. 

______________________________________

“Well Max obviously is sitting in the front with Lucas.” Caleb said, he and Jake falling behind the group as they argued. “And you got shotgun with JJ  _ last _ time.” 

“Not true!” Jake argued back. “When we went to Benny’s on Monday you sat in the front and me and Chance had to squish in the back.” 

“Which I don't get because we also had two cars then too.” Lucas called over his shoulder. 

“Because, no offense, but your car is small and I have  _ no _ leg room back there.” Caleb said defensively. 

Max looked back at Chance, the two of them rolling their eyes. It was the same argument everyday after practice, and they’d learned not to care anymore. 

“JJ came and picked us up yesterday night when we spontaneously decided to go to Lucas’s house to watch a movie, right?” Caleb said, turning to Jake as he tried to explain the timeline of events. “And when you guys came to get me  _ you _ were already sitting up front.” 

“That doesn’t count!” Jake argued. 

“It totally counts!” 

“No it doesn’t! He picked me up first!” 

“It still counts!” 

“I have an idea!” JJ interrupted loudly, climbing into the driver's seat of his truck. “Chance gets the front.” 

“Score!” Chance laughed, climbing into the passenger seat before anyone could objected, leaving Caleb and Jake standing stunned in the middle of the parking lot. 

“Dude…” Jake said, sounding hurt. “I’m your best friend. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Yeah, well, today I’m on Chance's side.” JJ said, closing the door and starting the car. Jake rolled his eyes. 

“Rude.” He mumbled. 

“I’ve got room for one more back here.” JJ said, tossing his backpack and duffel bag into the back seat before leaning out the open window to look at the two boys. “The other can go in Lucas’s car just to make sure he and Max don’t get “lost” on the way there.” 

“Hey!” Lucas objected. 

“I’ll go with you.” Caleb said quickly, shooting a look at Lucas, who spread his arms out wide from where he was standing beside his open drivers side door. 

“What’s wrong with  _ me?”  _

“Like I said, no leg space.” Caleb shrugged. “Besides. It’s Jake’s turn to make sure you guys aren’t making out.” 

“You’ve never even actually seen me hold his hand, let alone  _ kiss _ him.” Max pointed out, leaning out her open window where she was already sitting in the passenger seat. 

“No, we haven’t. That’s the mission.” Caleb said, climbing up into JJ’s truck as Jake walked toward Lucas’s car. 

“Operation Lumax.” Chance called. 

“Dude.” Lucas said, laughing slightly. “Ship names, seriously?” 

“It’s either that or Mucus.” Jake laughed, tossing his stuff into the back seat and climbing in behind. “It’s up to you.” 

“Wow.” Lucas said, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car. 

“There’s also Lax.” Max pointed out. 

“Don't encourage them.” Lucas laughed, pulling his seatbelt on and leaning across the middle console to call to JJ out her window. “I’m following you J!” 

“Try to keep up then!” JJ challenged, revving his engine. 

“Easy!” Lucas called back, gunning the gas as JJ shot across the empty parking lot at full speed. 

“You guys are going to kill us.” Max said, rolling up her window. 

“I agree.” Jake said, leaning forward between their two seats. “JJ acts like he’s a NASCAR driver, and I think he might  _ actually _ believe it.” 

Lucas hit the breaks quickly, making Jake jerk forward and fall off the seat. 

“Dude!” He complained, rubbing his knee as he sat up. 

“Seatbelt.” Lucas laughed, glancing at him through the rear view mirror. Jake pulled on his seatbelt, a smile spreading on his face as he shook his head. 

“Max, if I die, take Lucas out of my will.” 

“I’m in it?” Lucas smirked. 

“Not anymore. Max can take your spot.” 

“Sweet. I call your Michael Jordan jersey.” She said, smiling at him over the back of the seat as Lucas inched the car forward behind JJ, looking for an opening to get onto the main road. 

“No way! That was expensive! I’m wearing that thing to the grave.” Jake said. “But you can have his card.” 

“Deal.” Max nodded. “Suck it, Lucas.” 

“Rude. Should I risk it?” Lucas asked, only half paying attention to their conversation. JJ had pulled out of the high school parking lot, and was already pulling ahead of them quickly down the main road. Lucas had room to go, but another car was coming in their direction fast. 

“Risk what?  _ Me? _ No!” 

“Too late.” Lucas said, flooring the gas and peeling out of the parking lot, turning into the same lane as JJ, temporarily leaving Max and Jake exposed to the car speeding toward them. 

“You jerk!” Max said, smacking his arm once they were in the clear. “I’d rather not die today.” 

“Did you?” Lucas smirked, looking at her and then out the back window as he switched lanes, before pulling up to the stoplight behind JJ. 

“Not  _ yet.” _

“Then you’re fine.” He said, casually grabbing his Gatorade bottle from the cup holder and taking a drink of it. 

“So who won?” Jake asked, finally bringing up the question. 

“The race in practice?” Max asked, turning around in her seat to look at him. 

“Yeah.” 

“If you say anything other than my name we’re gonna have a problem.” Lucas said, pulling the bottle away from his mouth just so he could interrupt her before she could answer. 

“From what I could tell it was a tie.” 

“Well, see? Now we have a problem.” Lucas said in a mock exasperated tone, slamming his bottle onto the center console, spilling a little bit of his drink and making Max laugh as he swore.

“Oh, the swearing comes out, we’re definitely screwed with Lucas’ driving now.” Jake said, directing his sentence at Max. “See you on the other side.” 

“Let’s hope that means JJ’s house.” Max joked. “Because I heard his mom is making enchiladas.” 

“Oh then we’re definitely getting there in one piece.” Lucas said confidently, putting the cap back on his Gatorade and dropping it into the cup holder, before turning right onto a fairly deserted road behind JJ as the light turned green. 

“Nothing comes between a boy and his food.” Max said seriously, moving her hand in an attempt to sneakily grab Lucas’s Gatorade bottle, but her statement still seemed to stand. 

“What are you doing?” He asked skeptically, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she picked it up and took a drink of it, leaning as far away from him as possible as she did so. 

“Max!” He exclaimed, grabbing for her while watching the road ahead, swerving slightly as he leaned across the console. “You said you didn’t want one!” 

“And I didn’t, not at the moment.” She said, putting the lid on and giving it back to him without a fight. “But now I’m thirsty.” 

“Then drink the water bottle in your backpack!” He said, tucking the bottle between his seat and the drivers side door with one hand. 

“Nah, doesn’t taste as good.” 

“You're mean to me.” Lucas mumbled, flicking the turn signal as he followed JJ down another fairly empty road. 

“I am  _ not. _ Am I mean to him Jake?” Max asked sweetly, turning around in her chair to face him again. 

“No. Never.” Jake said with a smile. 

“See.” Max said, facing forwards once again. 

“One of the boys  _ not _ taking my side. What a surprise.” Lucas laughed, starting to speed up just to stay caught up with their friends. The road in front of them seemed endlessly long, but he had a feeling if JJ disappeared behind a small hill he’d never find him again. 

“Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘girls are always right’?” Jake asked with a smile. Lucas tried to ignore the way Max smiled back at him, because the two of them ganging up on him never ended well.  _ Especially _ if it involved the words pillow and fight. 

“Who made that up? A girl?” Lucas asked, the speedometer slowly climbing as JJ seemed to pull further and further away, his red truck disappearing into the horizon. “He’s definitely speeding.” 

“Probably.” Jake admitted, answering both his question and his statement. “But what did your dad say that one time you asked what to do if Max was wrong?” 

Max’s smile widened as she turned to look at Lucas. “He said that she’s never wrong.” Lucas grumbled. “I still don’t believe that.” 

“Oh really?” Max asked, her voice a friendly challenge. “When have I ever been wrong, Stalker?” 

“Well, first of all, you thought we were big nerds.” 

“You  _ were _ big nerds. You were dressed up in  _ proton packs _ the first time you talked to me.” 

Jake snorted. “What?!” 

“Forget it.” Lucas said, waving him off. “What about that one time you bet  _ against _ me when Dustin and I had that pie eating contest?” 

“Dustin won.” She said. “I bet right.” 

“I won!” 

“No you didn’t. Dustin ate four, you ate three.” 

“No. I ate four!” Jake was currently having a laughing fit, and Lucas pointed back at him without looking at him. 

“Shut up, Jake.” He said, though he wasn’t able to control the laughter in his tone. 

“The point was,  _ you _ were supposed to be on  _ my _ side.” Lucas said, directing his statement back at Max. 

“I wasn’t going to  _ lose _ the bet. I got $20 off of Mike. I wouldn’t have if I bet you would win.” 

“Hey.” 

“I support you but that doesn’t always mean I have to  _ believe _ in you.” 

“Hey!” All three of them were laughing now, mostly because Jake was laughing so hard it was contagious, and making the two of them laugh. 

“I still haven’t heard you prove her wrong.” Jake said once he’d calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes. 

“I know. I’m trying to think.” Lucas informed him. 

“Which proves the point that I’m never wrong.” Max said slyly. 

“No it doesn’t.” Lucas said. “Oh! I know. What about the time you thought everything about El was just—” he froze at the look Max gave him, shaking her head just slightly as a signal for him to stop talking. 

It wasn’t like he’d purposely meant to bring it up, the conversation had just been so casual that he temporarily forgot that Jake knew nothing about the Upside Down or Hawkins Lab, much less the person that had defeated the monsters inside. 

“What?” Jake asked, now seriously curious. “Whose El?” Lucas glanced at Max, his mind going a million miles an hour trying to come up with an answer, but luckily Max beat him to it. 

“El is one of our friends, Will’s stepsister. The ones that moved. At first I thought that she was actually Will’s twin or something but they weren’t even related...at the time. I didn’t believe Lucas until El and Will told me themselves.” Jake didn’t seem convinced, but as soon as he opened his mouth to question her, Lucas spoke up. 

“Oh look we’re here.” He said quickly, following JJ down the long driveway that led to the large, two story red brick house. 

“Whoa.” Max said as she looked out the window. 

“My reaction the first time too.” Jake laughed, leaning forward between the two of them once again, seemingly already forgetting his curiosity about what Lucas had said. 

JJ’s house looked close to the same size as Steve’s, but a little nicer and more put together. The front door was matte black, with a white trim lining around it, the shutters on the windows similar to the door. The front porch looked more like the entrance to a museum than anything else, with white columns holding up the overhang, matching red brick stairs leading up to the front door. Everything about JJ’s house seemed so neat and in order, from the neatly trimmed shrubbery in front of the house to the dark forest that rose up behind it. 

“It’s so nice.” Lucas said, parking behind JJ’s truck and switching off the car. “It looks brand new.” 

“They've been redoing some things here and there, but it’s always been pretty nice. JJ’s dad is very persistent in keeping it looking clean.” Jake told them, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

“Well he’s succeeding.” Max said, still looking out the window. 

“Cmon. Wait till you see the inside.” Jake said, already climbing out of the car. 

_______________________________________

Max didn’t think it was possible to be anymore impressed with a house than she already was, but as soon as JJ led them through the front door she discovered she could. 

The entryway was bathed in light, opening up into a large living room, with two large leather couches leading to the fireplace, sitting on either side of a marble coffee table, a simple gray rug underneath it all. 

There were several large, professionally taken family portraits hanging around the walls. The largest, and most recent, which looked about a year old, was hanging in the center of the wall above the fireplace, each individual child circling around it in separate pictures. 

Until now Max hadn’t known that JJ was the middle child, and had two younger siblings below him and two older above him. 

“You can leave your shoes here.” JJ said, breaking them all out of their daze as they took in his house, all except Jake, who was already pulling off his shoes. “My parents don’t want anything from outside to get on the floor.” 

Max could tell why. The dark wooden floor looked spotless, clean enough that they could almost make out their reflections as they looked down at it. 

“JJ? You home?” A voice called from the kitchen. 

“Yeah mom!” JJ called back, turning towards them. “Cmon. I’ll introduce you before we go downstairs.” 

They all followed a little hesitantly, the four of them hanging back a little, Chance and Caleb pushing Max and Lucas forward in front of them as Jake followed JJ confidently into the kitchen, which  _ also _ wasn’t what they’d expected. 

The wooden floor seemed like it ran through the whole upstairs, and it was no different in the kitchen. The counter tops on the island matched the floor, the siding and drawers the same pure white as the trim outside of the house, two large, bright white lights hung from above. The silver oven was surrounded by a granite backdrop against the wall, with clear cupboards surrounding it on either side. The fridge and sink were the same silver color as the oven, and standing in the middle of it all was who Max could only assume was JJ’s mom. 

Right away she could see the similarities between the women and her friend. They had the same face shape, the same fluffy brown hair, though his mom’s was longer, down to her shoulders, and even from a distance Max could see the same kindness shining through the women’s eyes that she saw in JJ. 

“Oh you must be Max!” She said right away, making Max’s face heat up in embarrassment. “JJ’s told me so much about how you’ve helped all these guys out.” 

“Oh really?” Max said, looking over at JJ, who scoffed, shaking his head and turning away to dig through the fridge. 

“And that must make you...Lucas.” She decided, pointing at Lucas after looking between the both of them. Lucas subconsciously moved closer to Max, his shoulder bumping against her. 

“Yeah. That’s me.” 

“I know you’re Chance.” She said, making the darker haired boy shifting uncomfortably beside Caleb. “I’ve seen you play before. Well, before this season, at least. You’re a great scorer.” Chance smiled, standing up a little straighter, looking more confident.

“Which leaves…” everyone turned their gaze to Caleb, all watching him. He shifted uncomfortably just like Chance had, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “Caleb?” 

He nodded hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure if he could trust her yet. 

“I told her all about you guys.” JJ said, leaning against the other side of the island as he opened a bottle of apple juice, which seemed too small in his hands. “I described each of you to her after the first home game, I promise she’s not a creep.” 

His mom smacked his shoulder affectionately, before turning back to the oven, where something was cooking in a saucepan. It smelled delicious, whatever it was.

“Don't just drink that in front of them JJ, get them one too.” She scolded. JJ rolled his eyes, then gestured to the fridge. 

“Orange juice, apple juice or grape juice?” He asked. 

“Grape.” Chance and Max said automatically, glancing at each other suspiciously as if the other had been reading their mind. 

“Lucas? Caleb?” JJ asked, grabbing an orange juice and tossing it to Jake without having to ask. 

“I’ll take orange.” Caleb said. 

“Apple.” Lucas replied. JJ turned back to the fridge, grabbing and sliding each of their respective bottles across the island as he took them out of the fridge, hardly looking back at them as he did so. 

Suddenly Max felt something hug her legs, and she looked down to see a little boy around five years old with spiky brown hair looking up at her, his big blue eyes piercing into hers as he smiled. 

“Hi!” He said, the sound of his little voice turning everyone else’s attention over to her. 

“Hi.” She said, a little hesitantly. He’d kinda just appeared out of nowhere and he didn’t seem eager to let go of her leg. 

“Dylan you can’t just attack people.” JJ laughed, moving across the kitchen to pick him up off the floor, gently pulling him away from Max. 

“If you haven’t guessed already this is my brother—”

“Hi Jake!” Dylan said. 

“Hey bud.” Jake smiled. 

“And apparently he likes  _ my _ friends more than his own.” JJ continued, holding his brother back as he tried to climb out of his arms and reached for Lucas. 

“JJ’s friends are cool!” Dylan said, still struggling. “They give me piggyback rides!” Max smiled, starting to realize that everything was amazing in this kid's eyes. 

“JJ put him down.” Mrs Petersen said. “And Dylan, don’t crowd your brother and his friends. Ok?” 

“But…” Dylan’s shoulders dropped as JJ set him down. “Can I give Jake a hug still?” Everyone’s attention now turned to Jake, who laughed. 

“Yeah, sure buddy.” Dylan ran across the kitchen as Jake crouched down, the little boy jumping into his arms and throwing his arms around his neck as Jake stood up. Max had to admit it was kinda cute, but in a brotherly way, the way Jake was acting with him. 

“Dinner should be ready in awhile.” Mrs Petersen said, shaking the saucepan a little as whatever was inside started to bubble up. “I’ll call you up when it’s done.” 

“Ok. C'mon guys I’ll show you downstairs.” JJ said, leading them back out to the living room. 

_______________________________________

“Alright Dylan time to get ready for bed.” JJ’s mom said, drying her hands off on a dish towel as she came into the living room from the kitchen. 

All seven of them were spread out on the living room carpet, Dylan’s collection of little people toys spread out in front of them as he made up a world that included all of them. 

“Nooooo.” The little boy whined. 

“Yes.” She laughed. “Let JJ play with his friends.” 

“Mom. I’m a senior. I don’t  _ play.”  _ JJ said, mock offended. 

“Well I’m sorry Mr Tough Guy.” 

Dylan turned to look up at Lucas from where he was already sitting on his lap. Jake had been offended that Lucas had quickly become Dylan’s new favorite so fast, but had gotten over it when Lucas had complained his legs were going numb from sitting crossed legged so long. 

“Promise you’ll play again?” The little boy asked, his lower lip sticking out as he pouted. 

“Yeah, sure.” Lucas said. 

“Yay!” Dylan jumped up and ran over to his mom, grabbing her hand as he all but dragged her down the hall to his bedroom. 

“Finally I can move.” Lucas said, stretching his legs out and laying back on the floor. “I was starting to think I’d be paralyzed for awhile. 

“You’re so dramatic.” Max said, Caleb nodding in agreement. 

_ “You _ try having an excited child sitting on your lap for an hour.” 

“I told you I could take him.” JJ smiled. 

“Yeah, well…” Lucas’ voice faded as he failed to come up with an excuse. “Ok fine, I didn’t want you to. Happy?” 

“Lucas as a father, ladies and gentlemen.” Chance said, dramatically clapping. 

“Shut up.” Lucas laughed, throwing an arm over his face. 

“Wanna go watch one more movie in the theater before you guys have to go?” JJ asked, already standing up. 

“Sure. But no more Super Mario.” Caleb said. “Or I might break the Nintendo if Max beats me again.” 

“Then let’s go.” Max said, patting Lucas on the stomach before standing up, making him sit up. 

“Dude!” 

“It wasn’t that hard.” 

“Yeah but I ate a lot.” He said, holding his hands out to her. She rolled her eyes, pulling him up off the floor. 

“Whoa guys wait!” Jake said excitedly. Everyone froze, turning towards him. “That might be the closest we’ve ever been to them holding hands.” 

“Oh, give me a break.” Lucas said, the other boys bursting into laughter. 

“Cmon. If we wanna finish the movie we’ve gotta go now.” JJ said, still laughing as he glanced at his watch. 

“I call beanbag this time.” Max said, rushing ahead of them all and down the stairs before anyone could react. 

“What? No!” Lucas exclaimed, starting to follow her, seemingly forgetting about his legs being numb as he ran down the stairs two at a time and quickly catching up with her. 

“Caleb stole it from me last time!” He called after her, jumping the last seven stairs and disappearing around the corner after Max, their voices slowly fading away as they kept arguing back and forth. 

“You’d think that after eating  _ three _ enchiladas and  _ two _ platefuls of broccoli cheddar rice that Lucas wouldn’t have the energy to throw himself down the stairs, but nooooo.” Chance teased as they reached the bottom of the stairs. 

“Lucas is  _ never _ out of energy.” Caleb said, hearing Jake laugh behind him, wherever it was at something JJ had said or if he was listening to their conversation, he wasn’t sure. 

“Last week, me and Max tried to teach him how to skateboard on the ramp in my backyard, and even when he almost died trying to drop in, he ran freaking laps around the yard with my dog like a psychopath.”

“I know. It’s weird. I’d think that you, with your ADHD, would be  _ way _ more hyper.” Chance said, reaching the door to the theater room at the end of the family room and pulling it open. “What do you do, drink three energy drinks in the morning so you get it all out before practice?” 

“Don't give away my secrets.” Caleb said, mock offended as he followed Chance inside, pushing the door open further for Jake and JJ. 

“Lucas! Get.  _ Off.” _ Max’s voice floated over to them, turning their attention to the two of them, where they were practically throwing each other around trying to establish a spot on the giant beanbag, which Max had clearly done, but Lucas had squished his way into her space, and he wasn’t moving. 

“We can share.” He said, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat unmoving in his spot, Max’s objections and pushing having no effect on him. 

_ “No!” _ Max grunted, using all her strength in an attempt to push Lucas away again, only to have him grab her arm and use her own momentum against her, almost throwing her off, which would’ve worked if she hadn’t grabbed the fabric of the beanbag to hold herself down. 

“Don’t.” She said firmly, a hint of laughter in her tone as she glared him down, a playfulness in her expression. 

“We share, or I will throw you off.” He said.

“That’s a Hobson's choice! Just because your dad taught Erica something doesn’t mean you can pretend you’re smart and use it on me.” 

“Fine. We share or I—wait!  _ Pretend _ I'm smart?” 

“Yes. Pretend. You nerd.” Max said, continuing to push Lucas as if enough of it would eventually scoot him far enough to knock him off the chair. 

Caleb leaned his arms against the back of the couch, watching their argument with amusement. 

“If I’m a nerd...why do I have to—pretend to be smart?” Lucas asked, starting to struggle from stay in his spot as he resorted to pushing Max back. 

“Book smart and street smart are different, bud.” 

Well then I’m both. Now we either share or I will tickle you until you give up.” 

“I wouldn’t give up. I’m tougher than you are.” 

“Wanna bet?” 

“Please! Move your lovers quarrel elsewhere!” JJ complained, falling down onto the couch in the same spot he’d been sitting at before dinner, making a show of pointing the remote at the tv as he changed the channel. 

“It’s not a lovers quarrel.” Max objected, though the two of them stopped shoving each other. 

“Yeah.” Lucas agreed lamely. 

“Looks like it to me.” Jake said, falling down into the spot next to JJ and reaching over him to grab the unfinished box of Milk Duds. “You’re sitting in a love seat together.” 

“Don’t stop them.” Caleb laughed as he and Chance sat down on the banana chairs in front of the couch. “Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll  _ finally _ witness a miracle. Maybe they won’t hate each other for the first time ever.” 

“For the  _ last _ time—” Max started, leaning over the back of the beanbag chair to grab her and Lucas’s half empty bowl of popcorn. 

_ “We don’t hate each other.” _ Chance finished, in almost a perfect imitation of Max.  _ “I’ve never even held his hand in front of you guys, you're not gonna see me kiss him.”  _

“Was that supposed to be me?” She asked, throwing a piece of popcorn at him, making the other boys laugh when he shook his head to try to get it out of his hair. 

“It  _ was _ you.” Chance smirked, running a hand through his hair just for good measure. “Will you throw me my Pringle’s can since you’re already chucking stuff at me?” Max picked up the can next to the beanbag, purposely throwing it at him harder than he expected. 

“That wasn’t me.” She insisted, even with a smile spreading on her face as she tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth. 

“It was.” Caleb said, shrinking back in his chair when Max looked over at him.

“Dude.  _ My side. _ Remember? We talked about this.” 

“Sorry.” Caleb said, sounding genuine even though he didn’t look it. 

“It  _ was _ pretty accurate.” Lucas whispered under his breath. 

“Whose side are  _ you _ on?” She asked, turning in her spot to face him better. He rolled his head to the side to look at her, a similar smile to Caleb’s spreading across his face. 

“Oooooooh lovers quarrel part two!” Jake yelled over them. 

Max rolled her eyes and leaned back against the beanbag, giving up. At first she’d been happy to find how easy it was to challenge the boys and make quips back and forth, but now she just was finding it annoying, because they were getting good at it. 

“What movie, JJ?” She asked, quickly changing the subject. 

“Uhhh we decided to let Jake pick so it’s either Aliens or Poltergeist 2.” 

“Aliens.” Max said, at exactly the same time Lucas said:

“Poltergeist.” 

“Ooooooh part three! This is getting exciting!” Jake said, shaking his box of Milk Duds in excitement, then again when he realized he was out, swearing under his breath. 

“Good. I hope you suffer without your Milk Duds.” Lucas teased, picking up a box of Whoppers from the pile and tossing it behind his head, laughing out loud when Jake grunted in pain. 

“Wrong spot dude.” He wheezed. 

“My bad.” Lucas said, still laughing. “My aim’s too good from my wrist rocket.” 

“Way to be humble.” Max mumbled. 

“Let’s just start the movie before Jake wants revenge.” JJ said, kicking the back of Caleb’s chair as a signal to put the disk in. “Just pick one.” 

_______________________________________

“I told you we should’ve watched Poltergeist.” Lucas said, backing the car out of JJ’s driveway and onto the empty road. Chance and Jake were spending the night at JJ’s since their houses were so far away, and they couldn’t all fit into Lucas’s car, leaving Caleb to deal with Max and Lucas’s bickering once again, which he actually wasn’t that mad about because it was always funny and never really serious. 

“No. Aliens was good.” Max argued. “What was  _ not _ good was you eating all the popcorn before we were even halfway through.  _ That _ was unacceptable.” 

“The aliens were stressing me out.” Lucas defended himself. 

“The name is literally  _ Aliens _ and you  _ didn’t _ expect aliens?” Caleb asked from the back seat, adjusting his backpack on his lap, hugging against his chest. 

“I didn’t expect them to jump out at me so often.” 

“It wasn’t that bad.” Max laughed. 

“Yeah whatever. You kept grabbing my arm.” 

“That was you.” 

“Like I said. Whatever.” Lucas said, their conversation ending right then and there as they fell into silence, the only sounds being the wind and the quiet hum of the car as the wheels rolled down the dark, empty country road. 

Caleb could tell how tired the two of his friends were just because of how much their normal teasing had decreased since the movie had ended, almost an hour ago. It was only ten thirty on a Thursday night, but the longer they drove in silence the more Max was already starting to drift off, her head slumped against the window. 

The thing was, Caleb wasn’t sure he’d ever actually seen Max tired. For all he knew she could be a robot that didn’t need sleep. Obviously that theory was being contradicted now and it was a stupid thought but still, Max was always awake. 

Lucas seemed to notice this at the same time he did, reaching over the center console to shake her shoulder, his fingers gently squeezing her arm.

“Max.” He whispered, his gaze flicking from her to the dark road in front of him. “Hey.” 

She slowly lifted her head from the window, looking over at him without a word. She looked exhausted, her eyes drooping heavily, her blinking slowed. She’d pulled on her hood over her head before they’d even gotten in the car, making her loose red hair that wasn’t tied into a ponytail stick out from under it, staticy and frizzy. 

All in all she just looked tired. 

“Want me to drop you off first this time?” Lucas asked. It took her a second to comprehend what he had said, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion, but when she did finally realize she nodded, adjusting further into her seat and pulling her jacket tighter around her as she laid her head against the window again. 

“Ok.” Lucas whispered in response, rubbing his hand down the arm of her jacket once, then twice, before pulling away and resting it on the steering wheel once again. This was one of those moments the boys would tease them about, but for some reason Caleb felt like he shouldn’t. He waited for a count of thirty and for Lucas to change roads before he even spoke again. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Max this quiet.” He whispered, worried that he’d wake her up if he talked too loud. 

“I hardly ever do.” Lucas said, glancing back at him through the rear view mirror. “She never gets tired at movie nights with our other friends. This is only like the third or fourth time, maybe less. I’m guessing it was just a long day.” 

“Yeah.” Caleb agreed, nodding. “Probably.” 

They passed the highschool, their surroundings suddenly lighting up a golden yellow glow from the streetlights as they transitioned from the country road to the city. 

“You ok? You tired too?” Caleb asked after a minute of silence. During the movie Lucas had been getting more and more sleepy, or that’s what it looked like. He’d sink into the beanbag only to push himself up seconds later, blinking several times as if trying to keep himself awake. The second the lights had been turned on and he stood up he’d gone back to his usual energy, but now he seemed to be acting the same as before. 

“A little.” Lucas admitted. “Might help if you keep talking to me.” 

“Ok, uh. What do you wanna talk about then?” Lucas didn’t answer for a moment, turning down a familiar road that Caleb couldn’t quite remember the name of. 

“Lucas?” 

“Yeah? Oh sorry. I was focusing on not missing the turn. Uh….” he glanced at Max again, then up the road, almost nervously. He’d tensed up, his shoulders pressed back against the chair as he gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were starting to turn white. 

“You good?” Caleb asked skeptically. 

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just let me drop Max off first. Then we can talk.” 

“Ok.” Caleb nodded. Lucas pulled up to a curb, but the house in front of them didn’t look like Max’s house, though he’d only seen it once and during the day, but he still wasn’t positive this was that same house. 

Lucas unbuckled and leaned over the console, shaking Max’s shoulder again. It took a little longer for her to look up at him this time, and she glared at him for a moment as if trying to process who he was and why he dared to wake her up, before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. 

“Yeah?” She asked, her voice heavy from sleep. 

“We’re here.” She looked out the window, looking confused at first, which Caleb didn’t blame her for because  _ this wasn’t her house _ , but then she nodded, and he was even more confused. 

“Ok.” 

“Uh, dude.” Caleb finally spoke up. “Her house is three more down the street.” He said, pointing out the front windshield. To his surprise both of his friends answered the same way. 

“I know.” 

“He knows.” 

“Oh…” he said, feeling dumb. “So then, uh…why are we in front of some random person's house?” 

“I’ll explain later.” Lucas said, already climbing out of the car. Max glanced back at him before doing the same, shutting the door as Lucas reached her side of the car. She hugged him tightly, seeming as if she’d fall asleep on his shoulder at any moment. 

Lucas looked like he was saying something, but from the deafening silence of the car Caleb couldn’t hear anything. 

When they broke apart, Max waved at him through the window, before jogging quickly into the shadows of one of the surrounding neighboring back yards, Lucas climbing back into the car. 

“Where is she going?” Caleb asked, still watching the place where Max had disappeared. 

“To go through her window maybe, or just the back of the house. It’s quicker to get there through the backyards.” 

“Why would she go through her window?” 

“Long story. You can come up front if you want.” Caleb tossed his backpack and duffel bag into the space in front of the passenger seat, climbing over the center console to drop into the seat as Lucas pulled on his seatbelt. 

“There’s a door you know.” He laughed. 

“Too much work.” Caleb said, pulling on his own seatbelt. “I've got time for a story. Or is there something else you wanted to talk about?” Lucas glanced over at him, before blowing out a breath and shifting the car into drive. 

“We can do both.” He said, making a u-turn, his headlights illuminating almost every house on the street with bright white-yellow lights as he did so. 

“What do you wanna hear about first? Max or me?” 

“This seems like a test.” 

“Choose wisely.” 

_______________________________________

“So yeah, long story short. None of her family knows about me and I’d like to keep it that way for both of our sakes.” Lucas finished. 

“Her older brother pinned you to a wall, threatened you, and you didn’t listen to him?” Lucas nodded, keeping his gaze glued to the road ahead. 

“Dude, that's brave.” 

“Appreciate it. I didn’t feel very brave. Still don’t, even though he’s gone. I feel like if Neil finds out…” he flicked the turn signal, letting out a breath. “Game over.” 

“He doesn’t question where she is every single day?” Caleb couldn’t help but ask. 

“Not that she's told me.” 

“What do you think he’d do if he found out you were dating?” 

“Worse than whatever he would do if he even found her in my presence.” Lucas said tightly. “I’d rather not find out.” 

“Ok.” Caleb said, noting the abruptness in his voice that made it clear he’d rather discuss anything else.

“You said you had something else you wanted to talk about?” Lucas nodded, but he was still tense, like this subject wasn’t any better. 

“Answer honestly, ok?” Caleb nodded. 

“Do you ever think that...that maybe—you guys made a mistake...making me captain.” Caleb almost laughed, but he saw how deadly serious his friend was. He’d only known him for maybe a month and he could tell. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly again, his Adam’s apple bobbing every time he swallowed. Lucas didn’t want to talk about this, but he also wanted someone to give him an answer. 

“How could we make a mistake? You’re a great captain.” 

“Am I?” Lucas laughed tightly. “JJ can easily lead everyone without even trying. Even Chance and Jake can just talk and everyone will listen. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be saying or doing.” 

“Ok, dude listen.” Caleb said. “JJ and Jake have been on varsity together for what? Like two or three years?” 

Lucas nodded, but wouldn’t look at him. 

“They’ve already built all that confidence in each other and themselves, and let’s be honest, they’re like that normally, they just are. But you don’t have to be like JJ to be a good captain.” 

“Then what do I do?” 

“You just...keep doing what you’re doing. Keep making good plays, setting them up and running them correctly, keep being a good sport, working hard in practice. You may not have noticed it but you and Jake racing in practice during sprints has set a standard for everyone to try to achieve. You especially push yourself as hard as you can everytime we run, and you’re not quitting until you stop. That’s what makes you a leader.” 

“But, I’m not even trying to be a leader.” Lucas said hesitantly. 

“Yeah, I know, that’s the thing. You’re a natural born leader. That’s why we all agreed when JJ suggested it.” 

“So you really think I can do it? I won’t screw it all up?” 

This time Caleb did laugh. 

“No you’re not going to screw it up. You’ve got it.” Lucas blew out a breath, his shoulders relaxing as he turned off the main road and onto the gravel road that led into his neighborhood. 

“Thanks, Caleb. You know sometimes you really don’t sound like a total idiot.” He said with a smile. 

“Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not but no problem.” He said sincerely, because really, who wouldn’t tell their best friend that they were awesome. 

Lucas turned into Caleb’s driveway, putting the car into park and turning toward the passenger seat. 

“Hey.” Caleb looked up from collecting his stuff. “Let’s go beat this team in their own house. Yeah?” 

Caleb smiled, fist bumping Lucas. “Heck yeah.” 

“See you tomorrow.” 

“See ya.” Caleb said, climbing out of the car, reaching back in to grab his duffel bag off the floor as he swung his backpack over his shoulders. 

“Hey, do me a favor.” 

“What?” Lucas asked, leaning across the console to look out at him. 

“Don’t fall asleep and die.” 

“I won’t.” Lucas laughed. “See you tomorrow.” 

“See ya, Captain.” Caleb said, saluting him and shutting the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So JJ’s brother is based off of my friend when i went over to his house because he’s always excited with new people.  
> I feel like this story isn’t making any sense at all it’s just a bunch of one shots so if you don’t understand I’m sorry.  
> (On that note: if you’re confused about who anyone is or who their siblings are or anything like that just comment and I’ll let you know 😅)  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	8. Home of the Eagles

“I wanna do basketball.” Max looked up from her locker, her gaze traveling from Lucas’s face down his arm to the flyer in his hand. 

“Basketball?” She asked skeptically, not sure she’d heard him right. He nodded, shaking the flyer in his hand. She grabbed it, reading the big bold letters printed on the front:

**Basketball Summer Camp : All Boys Ages 8-18 **

**Improve your skills this summer. Three weeks of training before the season. All levels of expertise allowed.**

**Dates : **

**Ages 8-13 July 12-18**

**Ages 14-18: July 12-31**

**Prices :**

**Ages 8-10: $100**

**Ages 11-15: $150**

**Ages 16-18: $175**

**Included in package : **

**Customized Practice Jersey**

**Free Basketball**

**Customized water bottle**

**Duffel Bag**

**Tshirt**

**And More!**

**Become A Basketball Star! Sign Up Today.**

**( Registration ends June 15.) **

***For more info call Coach Shaw at (618)555-3817***

“Ok first question,” Max said, rescanning the page. “Do you have $175?” Lucas' shoulders dropped. 

“Well...no, but!” He hurried to explain, cutting her off before she could speak. “My parents said they would help pay half of anything I really want to do as long as I stay committed.” 

“So, you have eighty five dollars then?” 

“I’m close.” 

“How close?” 

“Uh…” Lucas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, mumbling an answer under his breath. 

“What?” Max questioned. 

“...twenty dollars.” He coughed. 

“What?” 

“Twenty Dollars! Ok?” Max snorted, making Lucas shake his head in amusement. 

“What?” He laughed. 

“I mean, I fully support you on this. 100%. But that’s _not_ close, where are you going to get fifty bucks in two weeks?” 

“I’ll find a way.” He said confidently, nodding his head as if he’d already convinced himself. “Maybe I’ll just use my Christmas money I have saved up for your guys' presents.” 

“No way! You promised me Swedish Fish.” Lucas laughed, taking the flyer back from her. 

“So...will you help me?” He asked as he re-read over the paper. 

“What?” 

“Get the money? Not like you give me yours or anything like that just...help me find jobs to do?” Max thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t really a hard choice: spend time with Lucas and possibly her other friends or go home to either an empty house or be in the presence of Neil. 

“I’ll make you a deal.” She said, turning back to her locker as she switched her books out for her skateboard. They only had one more week of school until summer. She didn’t want him to be gone for half of it, but if it was something he really wanted to do she wasn't gonna stop him. That just meant finding any possible way to spend time with him until then. 

“You help me with my math homework everyday until school ends, and I’ll help you find a way to get the money.” Lucas was already agreeing before she’d even finished her sentence.

“Deal. I’ll do it. Easy.” 

“Shake on it then.” She said, smirking as she held her hand out to him. 

“You really don’t trust me that much? Ok wow fine.” He said, reaching out and shaking her hand. “We have a deal.” 

“Max? Hellllo?” She shook her head, realizing that Lucas was waving his hand in front of her face, which was really just a blur because he was doing it so fast and too close. 

“Earth to Max!” 

“I’m on the planet. Cool it.” She said, shoving his hand away. The study hall classroom was deathly silent compared to the noisiness of her own thoughts, especially with only Lucas as her partner at their little makeshift table, everyone else crowding at least four or five desks together into just one group so they could sit together, which the two of them didn’t really didn’t mind. More leg space and less people to talk to was better than no leg space and too many. 

Lucas was tapping his pencil against the leg of his jeans as he bounced his leg, the steady rhythm of both his pencil on his knee and his sneakers against the linoleum pulling her back into the present. 

“Yeah, well. You weren’t for a while.” He whispered across the table, tossing his pencil onto his notebook, his leg no longer bouncing as he leaned his arms against the desk. “I literally said your name like five times.” 

“No you didn’t. You’re exaggerating.” She whispered back, sitting up a little straighter in her chair as she attempted to stay focused on her assignment for more than five minutes at a time. 

“No, I'm really not.” Lucas laughed. “Did you seriously not feel the paper ball that I threw hit you in the shoulder?” 

Her eyebrows pressed together involuntarily, but when she looked down she did, in fact, see a crumpled up piece of notebook paper on the floor beside her chair. She leaned down to pick it up, Lucas simultaneously reaching across the table to grab his notebook from beside her, where she was _supposed_ to be copying down the answers he already had on their history assignment, which she kinda hadn’t been doing, her worksheet blank except her name and the first three answers.

She looked up at him to tell him she wasn’t done with it, her pencil hovering over her worksheet and the paper ball in her other hand when she saw how gently he was studying her expression. 

“What’re you thinking about?” He asked, closing his own notebook. 

_Oh nothing much just the start of your whole basketball career._ She thought to herself. Ever since the start of the basketball season and Lucas making the team that one memory had been more prominent than the others, though she couldn’t place her finger on why.

Maybe it was because it was probably the best decision she’d ever witnessed him making, or _maybe_ it was because she was still mad at him for stealing the last Swedish Fish from the vending machine at lunch and not sharing. 

Great, now that was what she wanted: Swedish Fish. That wasn’t important. 

The only other option she could think of was that he was still helping her out with homework everyday, even though their deal had ended at the beginning of summer. 

She stared back at him, his eyebrows rising in concern when she didn’t answer right away. 

“Nothing important.” She said honestly, tossing the paper at him and trying really hard not to think about kicking the legs of his chair out from under him when he leaned back on the two legs, his hands holding himself up with the desk while he listened. 

“Kinda just trying to pass time until we leave.” 

“Yeah.” Lucas agreed, glancing at the clock. “Did Coach say when the bus would come?”

“No. He just said we’d get out early.” Lucas groaned, leaning further back into his chair with so much force it scraped against the linoleum floor and almost went out from under him, making a few kids look up from their homework and over at him instead while he hurried to readjust himself, using the desk to keep himself upright. 

“Shh.” Their teacher hissed, not even looking up from whatever romance novel she was reading this time. The fact that all the guys on the covers looked like either Steve, Billy, or JJ was kinda freaking Max out. 

Lucas seemed to notice this too, sending her look of disgust across their desks, pretending to gag. 

The classroom door opened, the click of the hardware sliding against the siding catching everyone’s attention as they looked up toward the office monitor, an old lady in maybe her fifties or sixties, with a mess of wispy gray hair covering her head. 

She didn’t look at any of them or say a word, but simply hobbled over to the teachers desk, handing her a small piece of colored paper and whispering something, before shuffling back to the open door and disappearing down the hallway once again, the door closing behind her. 

“Maxine Mayfeild and Lucas Sinclair?” Everyone turned towards them, twenty three pairs of eyes settling on the two of them as the teacher held up the paper, her arm hovering in the air as she turned back to her book. Lucas dropped his chair back down to the ground and stood up, walking across the room and grabbing the paper, his eyes skimming back and forth across the note as he read it on the way back to their table. 

Several kids started to whisper back and forth, probably making guesses about what kind of trouble the two of them had gotten into this time, if one of the policemen had come to talk to them again for reasons that were confidential, or why they were wearing matching school hoodies. 

“Are we excused?” Max asked as Lucas sat down again. He nodded, tossing the small piece of paper to the middle of the table as he started to pack up his things. 

She picked it up, reading over the messy cursive scrawled onto the small paper: 

_𝒫𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝓊𝓈𝑒 ℳ𝒶𝓍𝒾𝓃𝑒 ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒻𝑒𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℒ𝓊𝒸𝒶𝓈 𝒮𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓇𝒾𝒸𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓈._

_𝒮𝒾𝑔𝓃𝑒𝒹,_

_𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓅𝒶𝓁 𝒥𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈_

“No one can argue with the principal.” Max said once they’d left the classroom, the door closing behind them and echoing down both sides of the long deserted hallway. Lucas nodded in agreement as Max crumpled the paper up into a little ball and tossed it into a nearby trash can. 

“You’re not wrong.” He said, stopping at his locker. “Maybe that’s why he’s both the coach _and_ the principal, no one can stop him from leaving for games. And he kinda gets off work early.” 

“Yeah then has to deal with eleven _super_ annoying teenage boys, so not really much better.” She teased. 

“Hey! You’re on the team too so technically it’s just twelve annoying teenagers in _general.”_ Lucas said, tossing his backpack onto the shelf and trading it for his duffel bag. 

Max shrugged. “You got me there.” 

“Hey guys!” Chance’s voice echoed down the empty hall, his words bouncing off the lockers around them. They turned around to find him already with Caleb, the two of them waving over at them. 

Max had the same thought every time she saw the two of them together; angel and devil, although their personalities were switched. 

Even with Chance in his gray Hakwins tigers hoodie and black shorts, with his dark hair slicked back and his tan skin glowing, seemed less likely to do something evil than Caleb, who was wearing the same hoodie with white sweatpants and shoes he somehow managed to keep clean, which was a feat for him in general, his blonde curly hair and Florida tan looking exactly like the paintings of the angels hung up in the art room. 

He might have _looked_ innocent, but Max had grown to learn how mischievously his mind was constantly wired, especially when he had a plan. 

“Hey!” Lucas spoke up as the boys got closer. “Ready to win?” 

“Duh.” Caleb said. “Chance and I got here before school started this morning and got some shots up.” He said, making a show of dramatically shooting an invisible basketball. “We’re ready!” 

“Granted Caleb missed all his.” Chance said, Max and Lucas falling into step behind the two of them as they all made their way down the hall to the front of the school. 

“I did not! All lies.” Caleb assured them, spinning around to face them, walking backwards. 

“Not lies. You made _maybe_ two.” 

“Out of the first four I shot!” 

“You mean forty.” Caleb bumped Chance's shoulder, making him stumble into a row of lockers, the two of them laughing as Chance ran back at Caleb, both boys dodging and taking shots at each other as they progressed down the hallway, Lucas and Max occasionally having to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked into a trash can or open classroom door. 

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, they made it to the front doors, Caleb and Chance running out into the cool autumn day, the red and gold leaves crunching under their tennis shoes as they cut across the lawn, racing towards the shuttle bus parked at the front of the school. 

“If they have this much energy during the game, the other team has _no_ chance.” Lucas laughed, shouldering his duffel bag. “Maybe they’ll just forfeit right away.” 

“To be fair, if I walked into a gym and saw _JJ_ guarding me I’d forfeit too.” Max teased. 

“Well he’s like two feet taller than you.” 

“And three times stronger.” She added. 

“Wait? Max _not_ reacting to a short joke? That’s new.” 

“You know what else is new?” She asked, punching him in the arm before he could answer. 

“I’m gonna guess the bruise on my arm.” He said, rubbing his shoulder. “Sheesh, maybe JJ’s _not_ three times stronger. You might knock him out if you tried.” 

“I have no reason to.” 

“What if it was me?” 

“Oh then I’d _definitely_ have several.” 

“Hey.” He laughed, making her smile. 

“Lucas! Max!” Mr Jones greeted, making his way over to them. He was dressed in gray suit pants with a dark blue tie, a gray Hawkins Tigers windbreaker pulled on over the top of his dress shirt. 

“Glad you could make it. We’re just waiting on JJ and a few others and then we should be ready to go. That being said, you might want to go get a seat before Caleb and Chance take them all.” Lucas laughed, and Max knew it wasn’t because he thought Coach was joking, but because in all reality that was something their two friends would one hundred percent do. 

They walked up the steps of the open bus door, thanking the bus driver as they passed her, because Mrs. Sinclair had made the two of them promise to be on their best behaviors, Max assuring her she’d keep Lucas out of trouble, even when he insisted it was Max that caused it most of the time. 

“You guys are slow.” Caleb said, looking up at them from where he was already settled in his seat about halfway down the bus aisle, eating a bag of potato chips, his duffel bag and backpack piled in front of the window beside him. 

“Better finish that quick.” Max said. “Coach told you no junk food before the game.” 

“Oh crap, he did didn't he?” Chance said from the seat across from Caleb. He was eating a bag of mini Oreos and drinking a bottle of Minute Maid Orange Juice. 

“I _literally_ told you guys this.” Jake said, standing up to lean over the back of Chance’s chair, his floppy brown hair falling into his face, making him run his hand through it just to see them more clearly. “But did you listen to me? No.” 

“Where the heck did you come from?” Lucas asked. 

“I’ve been here the whole time. I got here first.” Jake said, gesturing to the seats behind him. 

“So you’ve just been sitting there...waiting to pop up?” Max asked. 

“Yeah, kinda creepy, right? I forgot he was there.” Caleb said, shoving a few more chips in his mouth. “Hef’s fso qwi-et.” 

“Dude. _Swallow.”_ Chance demanded, his expression turning into a grimace of disgust as he threw his empty Oreo bag at Caleb. Another thing Max had come to learn about Chance: the sounds of people chewing food grossed him out so much that if it went on long enough it would literally make him angry. 

“Sorry.” Caleb said, swallowing twice for good measure. “Forgot.” 

“Forgot manners?” Jake asked. 

“Manners?” Caleb said, his eyebrows pressing together in confusion as he spun around to face the other boy. “I don’t think I’m familiar with this strange word, my young sir.” 

“Not the British accent.” Lucas complained, covering his ears as he walked further down the aisle. 

“I’m sorry chap, I couldn’t understand you.” Caleb said, his eyes following Lucas as he passed him. “Could you repeat your inquiry to the thoughts of the president?” 

“That made absolutely zero sense.” Chance deadpanned. 

“Are you the Dutch of London? No! I didn’t think so!” Caleb said, still in his accent as he pointed accusingly at his friend. He turned around to kneel on his chair, looking at Lucas over the back where he’d sat behind him, across the seat from Jake. 

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your lady?” 

“Call me ‘lady’ one more time and I’ll slap you into next Friday.” Max said, sitting down beside Lucas. 

“Well then.” Caleb said, turning to face Chance and Jake. “We’ve got a fiesty one on our hands now don’t we boys?” 

The two boys laughed, starting to enjoy this.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, young sir but,” Caleb turned back to Lucas. “There are enough seats for the lady to have her own, you’re aware of this, correct?” Max leaned forward, hitting Caleb in the back of the head. 

“Ow!” He complained in his normal voice, rubbing the back of his head. 

“I warned you.” She said, shrugging. 

“I didn’t expect you to give me a concussion.” 

“Dude.” Jake said, running a hand through his hair again. “You, of all people, should know when she’s not kidding. Seriously. She’s always followed through.” 

“Not _always,_ remember that one day she said if Chance threw one more skittle into her water cup she would dump it on his head?” 

“The only reason I didn’t was because he drank it!” Max said defensively. “Chance _drank_ my science experiment and got me in trouble.” 

“And I regret nothing!” Chance called from his seat, digging his Walkman and headphones out of his backpack. “It was delicious.” 

“It was watered down Skittle juice.” Lucas said, Caleb and Jake’s expressions instantly changing to ones of disgust. 

“Please don’t ever say ‘Skittle juice’ again.” Jake said. 

“What the heck did I just walk into?” They all looked up to see JJ standing in the aisle in front of them, his duffel bag hanging loosely from his hand, his backpack thrown over his shoulder and his hood pulled on over his mess of brown hair. 

“Long story.” Max said. “First it started with Caleb’s dumb accent—”

“Hey!” 

“—and then it ended up being Chance drinking my science project, so, yeah.”

JJ nodded as if that answered his question. “Awesome.” He said, tossing his stuff and sitting down in the seat behind Jake. 

“Everyone here?” Coach asked as he entered the bus, his voice drowning out the conversations that each of them were having. “Count off.” 

“1!” Lucas called, not looking up from his duffel bag, where he was checking if he had his water bottle. 

“2!” Caleb called. 

“3!” Jake. 

“4!” Chance said, raising his hand, his headphones crooked since only one of them was over his ear. 

“5!” JJ. 

“6!” Noah. “7!” Ethan. “8!” “9!” “10!” “11!” The rest of the boys called out their numbers. 

“And Max is here?” 

“Yep!” She called, sitting up a little straighter to give him a thumbs up. 

“Ok. We’re good to go.” He said, turning to the bus driver. “Chance headphones away.” 

“But—”

“Headphones away. Team bonding time.” Chance pulled them off, tossing them back into his backpack as the bus started to pull away from the school. 

“Well guess you have to talk to us now.” Lucas shrugged. 

“Bummer.” Max said from beside him, grabbing his duffel bag when he handed it to her and twisting around to toss it into the seat behind them along with her backpack. 

“Yeah well then, what are we gonna do for the next…” Chance glanced at his watch, calculating the time it would take to get to the opposing teams school. 

“Hour and a half.” JJ offered. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well, my friends.” Caleb said, now back to his British accent, rubbing his hands together excitedly. “I present to you a game from my hometown country of London, Italy.” 

“Please tell me you’re being a moron on purpose.” Jake said. 

“I _present_ to you, _lady_ and gentlemen—no!” He flinched away from Max when she leaned forward into the aisle, disappearing back into his chair. 

“I wasn’t gonna hit you.” She laughed. “Sheesh.”

“Well, you do it a lot.” 

“It’s _usually_ out of love.” Lucas spoke up, leaning across Max to look at Caleb. “Promise.” Max rolled her eyes. 

“As I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted.” Caleb said, straightening out the sleeves of his hoodie. “What do you say we play a little game of Truth or Dare?” 

_______________________________________

“No way. There’s _no_ way!” Jake said, reaching up to touch his hair. 

“Don’t!” Max slapped his hand away, continuing to braid his hair from her spot behind him, his feet in the aisle as he faced the other boys. “Can I just say, I don’t know why I got dragged into _Jake’s_ dare.” 

“Because no one else can do it.” Lucas said smugly. 

“I can.” Caleb offered. “I have twin sisters.” 

“Yeah, yeah. But it wouldn’t look as good. Right?” 

“Got me there.” 

“Done.” Max said, patting Jake on the shoulder as she climbed over him and sat back down beside Lucas. 

Jake tentatively reached up to touch his now braided hair, pulled back away from his face and twisted down the middle, making him look totally different from his “surfer boy” appearance he usually had. 

“Do I have to keep it like this?” 

“At least until the end of the bus ride.” Lucas said. “But it might help keep it out of your face during the game.” 

“Fair enough.” 

“Max’s turn.” Caleb said, turning around to face the two of them. 

“I pretty much _just_ went.” She complained. “Do you know how hard it was to do that while he wiggled around and kept touching it?”

“It’s still your turn.” 

“Fine. Whatever. But I am not doing dare.” 

“Ok. Fine by me. You three.” Caleb said, pointing at Chance, JJ and Jake. “Huddle up.” 

“What about me?” Lucas asked. 

“Oh this’ll be _about_ you. Don’t worry.” Caleb smirked, huddling together with the other boys. 

“Well, rude.” He said, leaning back against the chair and folding his arms across his chest. 

“What else would they ask me about?” Max whispered. “They just want something to embarrass both of us.” 

“Ok!” Caleb said, turning toward the both of them. 

“We want to know when the last time you guys hung out _without_ us was. Together. By yourselves. And what you did.” 

“Little personal don’t you think?” Max asked, raising her eyebrows suspiciously. 

“No. Not at all.” Caleb smiled. “Anyways.” 

“Saturday.” Max said. 

“After we all went home after bowling that night we watched Poltergeist 2.” Lucas finished. 

“Just the two of you?” Caleb asked. 

“That was the question wasn’t it?” 

“Aww did you cuddle?” 

“No!” Max said, Lucas slapping his hand over his face in disappointment. “We bet on what would happen and I got to hit Lucas in the face with a plate of whipped cream.” 

“And _then_ you cuddled?” 

“We didn’t cuddle!” Max said, exasperated. 

“Mhm.” Caleb said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

“We didn’t!” 

“They didn’t.” Chance said, everyone turning toward him. 

“That doesn’t sound creepy _at all.”_ JJ stated. 

“I wasn’t _there.”_ Chance said. “But I can tell when Lucas is lying and he’s not right now.” 

“Yeah he’s a terrible liar.” Max agreed. 

“Max!” Lucas laughed. “Whose side are you on?” 

“The side that I agree with.” She said, like _duh._

“Aren’t we supposed to agree on the same thing?” He asked. 

“Yea, so agree with me and Chance. It’s _not_ that hard.” 

“Watching you guys argue is so entertaining.” JJ said, reclining with his back against the bus wall, his feet resting on the chair across from him with Max and Lucas’s stuff in it. “It’s adorable.” 

“I promise she actually likes me sometimes.” Lucas said, turning to Max. “Right?”

She shrugged. “Depends on the day.” 

“How about now?” He asked, smirking as she turned to look at him, studying him. 

“Well you’re _not_ agreeing with me right now so you're probably like a...six?” 

“Out of ten?” 

“Well now you’re down to five for asking a dumb question.” 

“It wasn’t dumb!” Lucas objected, his eyes narrowing playfully as he turned to face her more head on, leaning back against the bus wall. 

“Four now that you’re arguing.” Max smiled, watching as Lucas got flustered trying to come up with a response. 

“Well-you...I didn’t…” he left his sentence hanging in the air, glancing at Caleb for help, who just shrugged. “Never mind I’ll take a four.” 

“And now you’re up to five.” 

“What? Oh wait—sweet!” He said, sitting up a little straighter and reaching out to grab her wrist, high fiving her.

“Ok, six cause that was cute.” She laughed, Caleb waggled his eyebrows at Lucas out of the corner of his eye. 

“Shut up.” He and Max said at the same time.

“I didn’t say anything!” 

“You don’t have to.” Lucas said. “Your turn.” 

“I’m bored of this game.” 

“Only because it’s your turn.” Jake said. 

“No seriously, I’m bored.” Caleb said. “Can we play a different game?” 

“Like what?” JJ asked. 

“Anyone know how to play Black Magic?” 

“No!” Chance said quickly, sitting up stick-straight. “We are _not_ playing that.” 

“I’m guessing Chance doesn’t get it?” Max asked, a smile similar to Caleb’s building on her face. 

“No and it’s so _annoying.”_ Chance complained. “He just did it in Health and everyone in our group knew but me.” 

“What’s Black Magic?” Lucas asked, sharing a look of confusion with Jake. 

“Oh, we’re playing.” Max said, sitting up a little straighter. 

_______________________________________

“You guys _have_ to be communicating somehow.” Chance insisted. “There’s no possible way that you can guess it eight times in a row and get it right every time without telling each other what it is.” 

JJ’s eyes narrowed as he studied Max and Caleb’s expressions, both smirking in amusement at the rest of them. “I think I figured it out.” 

Everyone turned to him, Caleb and Max eyeing him suspiciously. 

“Ok, let’s test it then.” Max said, leaning forward. “Caleb tell me what item you’re picking and I’ll see if JJ can guess.” 

“No no no no.” Jake objected. “Caleb can’t _only_ tell Max. He has to tell one of us so we know they’re not switching.” 

“We’re not.” Caleb laughed. 

“Then tell us.” 

“Ok fine. JJ, cover your ears.” The older boy obeyed, the noisy conversations and sounds of the bus speeding down the highway immediately muffling as he watched Caleb lean over to whisper something to Chance, then Jake, then Max who passed it onto Lucas. When they all agreed they had the same object, Max gave him a thumbs up, signaling him to pull his hands away from his ears. 

“Ok. JJ is it…” Max looked around the bus, pointing at Lucas’ blue duffel bag in the seat behind her. “Lucas’ bag?” 

“Nope.”JJ said, shaking his head. 

“Is it Caleb’s hoodie?” That was gray, so no. 

“No.” 

“Is it Jake’s shoes?” Red

“No.” 

“Chance’s shoes?” Black. Bingo. 

“Nope.” 

“Ok is it…” Max pretended to look around the bus again, deciding on Jake’s backpack. “Jake’s bag?” 

“Yep.” Max smiled. 

“He’s got it.” She confirmed, turning to Caleb, who leaned across the aisle to high five him.

“What the heck!” Lucas complained. “Did you tell him?” 

“I figured it out.” JJ said. 

“Figured _what_ out?” Jake exclaimed. “I’m so confused!” 

“Welcome to the club.” Chance grumbled, running a hand over his face and falling backwards into his seat. 

“Is it every fifth thing you say?” Jake asked hesitantly. 

“Nope.” Max and Caleb both said, shaking their heads. 

“Do it again.” Lucas insisted. “Someone watch Caleb and make sure he’s not giving any signs.”

“Dude!” Caleb laughed. “Have some faith.” 

“I’ll do it to Max.” JJ offered, rubbing his hands together in excitement now that he was a part of the game. “Lucas, you can even pick the item and tell me.” 

Max covered her ears, Lucas leaning over the back of his seat as JJ moved to the seat behind him to hear what he’d chosen. “Do Caleb’s wristband.” 

JJ gave him a thumbs up, moving back to his own seat as Lucas pulled Max’s hands away from her ears. 

“Ok, Max.” JJ started. “Is it…Jake’s necklace?” 

“No.” Max said automatically, only glancing at the small object. 

“Ok umm...Lucas’ hoodie?” 

“No.” She said, without even looking at Lucas. Just to confuse the boys more, JJ decided to name off everyone since they all had matching hoodies. 

“Jake’s hoodie.” 

“No.” 

“Caleb’s hoodie.” 

“No.” 

“Chance’s?” 

“Nope.” 

“What about Lucas’s hair?” This time Max _did_ turn around, looking up at her boyfriend and smiling. 

“Nope.” 

“Caleb’s wristband?” 

“Yep.” 

“I got it!” Lucas exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and laughing. “I know how to do it.” 

“How!” Jake and Chance exclaimed at the same time. 

“It’s easy.” Lucas said. 

“Whisper it to me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.” Max said, looking over her shoulder to where he was kneeling behind her on their seat. 

Lucas leaned down, whispering a very lengthy explanation to Max, who kept a poker face the whole time. When he finished, Lucas pulled away, looking at her expectantly. 

“Yeah you got it.” She laughed. Lucas did a fist pump. 

“Tell me!” Chance said. “I have never been so annoyed with something in my entire life and I am the _youngest_ of four boys.” 

“You’ve got to figure it out.” Caleb laughed, clearly enjoying his friend’s frustration. 

“No. I’m done. New game.” 

“Well, we won’t have to play anymore anyways.” JJ said, making them all look up, just in time to see their bus pulling into the bus lane of a large highschool.

The brick wall was a deep red, with gold and white stripes painted along the sides, a giant cartoon eagle painted in the center of the wall above the entrance. Big bolded golden letters told them where they were before JJ did. “Welcome to the home of the Eagles.” 

_______________________________________

Max was glad the Freshman and JV teams had shown up earlier to play their games, because they were only halfway through watching the JV game and she was already sick of the Eagles’ student section. And wasn’t because of the dumb cheers and insults they were yelling at the Hawkins players, it was the cheerleaders. 

Apparently a four year difference didn’t stop them from hitting on her boyfriend, or any of her friends for that matter. It wasn’t that she was jealous, because she wasn’t. It was that after every cheer they did (which was practically every five seconds) they’d wink or wave in their direction, snickering when Max would roll her eyes. After the first three times it had started to get on her nerves, but now on the fiftieth or so (she’d lost count) she was thoroughly annoyed. 

“They do realize I could be their older brother's age, right?” Caleb asked from his spot beside her on the bleachers, when one of the girls, who was probably the captain, shot him a ‘call me’ sign from across the gym, waving her pom poms and giggling. 

“I don’t think they realize they’re literally _eleven_ years old.” Max grumbled. 

“They’re probably more like twelve or thirteen.” Lucas offered innocently from her other side. 

“Shut up.” She hissed, smacking his arm. 

“Sorry.” 

“I have an idea. Ignore them.” JJ said from behind them, his eyes focused on the younger boys playing the game as he popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth. 

“I _would_ , except they keep cat calling until I look over.” Caleb said, gluing his eyes to the game as the cheerleaders proved his point, making him almost as annoyed as Max was. 

“Then just don’t look.” 

“Easy for _you_ to say. You’re not being objectified by someone half your age.” 

“Dude, _everyone_ here is a snob, just ignore them.” Jake said from beside JJ, leaning over his friend to talk to them. “They’ll try to get under your skin in our game too. Just leave it alone.” 

“Foul!” JJ yelled, throwing his hands in the air and dumping some of his popcorn on Chance.

“Call it as it is ref!” Chance agreed, swiping a few pieces off his hoodie without really paying attention to his surroundings, totally locked into the game. 

“Hey guys.” Coach Jones said, walking up the bleacher stairs toward them. “You go start getting ready. We’re playing in here as soon as these guys are done.” The five of them nodded, standing up and grabbing their bags as Coach walked further up the stairs to tell the other group of boys the same thing. 

“Think you can hold down the fort?” Lucas asked Max, looking down at her where she hadn’t moved from her seat. 

“Probably.” She said, reaching back to grab JJ’s abandoned popcorn off his seat, popping a couple pieces into her mouth. “But if any of those cheerleaders comes over, don’t expect me _not_ to cuss them out.” 

“That’s my girl.” He laughed, pulling her hood over her head before taking off down the bleachers, dodging the pieces of popcorn she’d thrown at him. 

“See you in a bit.” He called over his shoulder. 

_______________________________________

“Ethan, go in for Lucas. Move Caleb to point.” Coach growled, grabbing the shoulder of the boy's jersey and half pulling him out of his seat half shoving him toward the check in. 

The ref blew his whistle to signal an out of bounds, the second shrill following soon after to signal Ethan to sub in. 

Lucas ran off the court, his head dropping in disappointment. 

“What did I tell you?” Coach asked, grabbing his arm and stopping him before he could sit down. 

“Don’t project the pass.” Lucas grumbled. 

“Yeah and I also said stop dropping your head after every mistake. Go talk to Max and let me know when you’re actually ready to play.” Lucas practically tore his arm away from his coach, dropping down into the seat next to Max and grabbing his water bottle off the floor, squeezing it so hard that he spilled it all over the front of his jersey. 

“What’s going on?” Max asked immediately, marking something on the stat sheet when Chance scored a layup. 

“I don’t know.” He said shortly, keeping his eyes on the defense his team had just set up in, wiping water off himself. 

“Well, you keep making mistake after mistake so—”

“I know that!” He exclaimed, his voice drowned out by the cheering crowd as the opposing teams guard cut through their entire defense and scored an easy bucket right over top of JJ. 

“Get in a stance!” Coach yelled, clearly frustrated. “Run 3&2!” 

Caleb set up the same play Lucas had done in practice the day before, yelling out the play again, repeating it to his teammates, his voice cutting through the noisiness of the gym loud enough that Max could hear it at the end of the bench. It was impressive to her how easily he could change from his easily distracted ADHD self to a hyper focused leader while on the court. 

He cut to the left, before crossing to the right the same way Lucas had, passing it to Jake as he ran off the screen, who drained a three with room to spare, silencing the opposing teams student section and igniting the other Coach’s anger. 

“You’re focusing on the mistakes and letting the anger control your gameplay.” Max finally said. “I can tell. Every time they strip the ball or intercept a pass you get mad at yourself and make another mistake, like fouling.” 

“Well duh. We’re losing and I’m the reason.” 

“So what? Don’t keep playing stupid. Don’t let them feed off your emotions.” 

“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one playing!” He snapped. 

“You’re right, so you better go out there and quit playing so sloppily or practice is gonna absolutely _suck_ for you tomorrow.” Lucas shook his head in annoyance, his hands squeezing into fists as they rested on his knees. He wasn’t mad at her, just everything in general. 

“Are you gonna fix it or continue to be sloppy?” 

“Fix it.” He growled. 

“Are you?” 

“Yes!” 

“Good. Then go sub back in and play like you normally do.” He stood up immediately, vaguely aware of Max slapping him on the back as he did so. He stalked back to the check in, the red hot anger in his head louder than the crowd. 

“Lucas!” His head snapped toward his coach’s voice. 

“I expect better because I’ve seen you do better. Quit playing off emotions and use your head. Just set up and quit making little mistakes. Ok?” Even with the harshness of his voice, Lucas could sense the pride in his Coach’s words. He nodded, showing he understood. 

“Good. Switch defense to man and set up in 0.” He said, the shrill sound of the whistle signaling a foul, bringing Lucas’s attention back to the court just in time to see Chance pulling Caleb to his feet under the hoop. 

“In the air! Two shots!” The ref called, the boys all moving to set up for free throws. Caleb shook himself out as he stepped up to the line. 

“Rest on the first!” The ref yelled over the noise, passing the ball to Caleb and blowing his whistle. Caleb let out a breath, dribbling the ball a few times. 

“Cmon Caleb.” Lucas whispered to himself. “Cmon.” 

The sound of the ball going through the net couldn’t have been any louder in the already quieting crowd, their team’s lead slowly slipping away. 

Lucas smiled as the shrill sound of the whistle signaled him to sub in, standing up and jogging onto the court in Ethan’s place just outside the three point line. 

“On the release!” The ref yelled once everyone was situated, bouncing Caleb the ball for the second time. 

“Can’t believe they even let you on the team.” A voice said from beside him. Lucas turned to see a dark curly haired boy about JJ’s age standing beside him, his hands on his hips as he watched Caleb set up. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas couldn’t help but ask. 

“You suck.” The kid deadpanned. Lucas remembered what Jake had said about everyone here at this school being a snob, how they would try to get under his skin. 

“Yeah, _I_ suck.” Lucas repeated, nodding along. “Yeah that’s why I alone have eight points and your team has missed almost that many missed _free throws.”_

“What’s your problem?” The boy asked, his face turning a bright shade of red against his white home jersey as he glared back at him. 

“No problem.” Lucas shrugged. “Just don’t talk trash if you’ve got no game.” As if emphasizing his point, Caleb swished his second free throw, jogging over to him to slap Lucas’s outstretched hand. 

“Let’s finish this.” Lucas mumbled to him, setting up for the other teams guard. 

“Man up!” He yelled, switching their defense like Coach had told him to. 

_______________________________________

Max had to admit how impressive it was to see how a usually cool, calm and collected Chance could turn into the other team’s worst nightmare: always executing his plays to near perfection even if he had to bowl someone over in the process, his expression never changing from focused until the end of the game. 

It was impressive to see Jake draining almost every three he had space to shoot, JJ gaining enough space to make almost every layup and how easily Caleb and Lucas could break up the defense at the head of the three.

All in all it was impressive how the same boys she’d been hanging out with for almost a month: always joking and teasing and full of energy, were the same boys on the court right now with ten seconds left in the fourth quarter, down by three and completely focused in while leaving no room for error, encouraging each other at the same time and working together in perfect harmony. 

Lucas was completely locked onto all of the guard’s moves in front of him, resting on his toes with his arms outstretched, his feet constantly moving whenever the other boy made any attempt to try to get past him. 

Max knew they were trying to run the clock down, and they could, but she also knew Lucas wouldn’t let that happen. 

As if he was reading her mind, Lucas lunged, hitting the ball just enough to knock it out of the guard’s hands, taking off down the court. The crowd screamed for their team to stop him, and Max stood up with the players from their own bench in excitement as they watched. Lucas went up for a layup, and Max saw what was happening before he did. 

Out of nowhere one of the other guards flew through the air to block his shot, knocking Lucas to the ground as he clipped his shoulder, he practically collapsed the second he hit the ground. 

The crowd started the cheer, but quickly changed to objections and yelling the second the refs whistle blew, Lucas yelling out in pain at the same time, clutching his ankle as he rolled around on the ground, his face contorted in pain. 

_No. No. No. No._ Max thought. 

Caleb reached him before anyone else, sprinting from one end of the court to the other in record speed and crouching in front of his best friend as he attempted to calm him down. Chance, Jake and JJ reached him a second after, hanging back just a little bit so as not to crowd him. 

Coach Jones ran out to meet Caleb the same time the refs did, Caleb having managed to get Lucas into a sitting position, his head in his knees. 

Jake glanced back in her direction, meeting her eyes. She swallowed, not breaking eye contact with him until he nudged JJ, whispering something to him before he ran over to the bench, ignoring his teammates asking what had happened and moving straight to Max. 

“Got the air knocked out of him, but he’s fine.” 

“Hurt?” 

“I think he twisted his ankle a little but doesn’t look like anything’s broken.” 

“Ok. Good. Thanks.” 

“No problem. You ok?” 

“Fine.” She said, setting her jaw when she saw the kid that had fouled him high five his teammate with a smile on his face. “But if they don’t call that as a foul we’re gonna have a problem.” 

“Yeah.” Jake laughed nervously. “Agreed.” 

The crowd started to dissipate, the opposing teams coaches moving back to their bench as Caleb helped Lucas up, Chance moving to pull his other arm over his shoulder, helping him stand upright, but Lucas pushed him away. 

Coach Jones came back to their bench, looking beyond stressed. “Jake get back out there.” 

“You’re still making him play?” Jake exclaimed. “He can’t even walk!” 

“He’s got free throws. I’ll get a sub as soon as he finishes.” 

“We only have five seconds.” 

“I know.” The man said. “I know. Just...get out there.” 

Max turned back to the court, seeing Lucas already standing at the freethrow line, balancing on his one foot as he dribbled the basketball in his hands.

He blew out a breath as the sounds of the gym faded out and then completely muted around him until he could only hear his own breathing. His gaze zeroed in on the hoop, almost like tunnel vision. He focused on the rim, remembering Max’s words echoing in his mind. 

_Just over the front of the rim._

The ball bouncing off the ground and hitting his hands felt far away, but when he stood up and released it he knew it would go in, straightening out with surprising ease and swishing his first shot. 

The other team called a timeout, and Lucas hopped back to the bench with the help of Caleb. 

“They’re trying to freeze the shooter.” Coach informed them. “But here’s what we’re gonna do. Lucas, miss this next one since were still down by two, Chance and JJ; you _get_ a rebound no matter what. As soon as you have the ball I’ll call our last time out—”

“No.” Lucas spoke up, surprising everyone. “Don’t take me out.” 

“You can’t walk.” Caleb said from beside him. “Much less _play.”_

Lucas didn’t say anything, just looked up, his gaze meeting Max’s with one simple fact etched into his expression; I’m finishing. 

“When he misses, Caleb or Jake can run in behind them and make a shot with just enough time.” She spoke up. “Lucas won’t even have to move.” 

Coach looked across the huddle at Lucas skeptically, and sensing he was going to back down, nodded. 

“Ok. Scratch what I said, listen to Max. Jake, Caleb, get ready to shoot.” A whistle blew, signaling the end of the timeout. 

“We can still win this. We’ve got this guys. Tigers on three. One...two...three—”

“Tigers!” Lucas refused Caleb’s help this time, pushing through all his pain as he walked back to the free throw line, only limping slightly. 

He sucked in a breath as he glanced up at the scoreboard, then over at Caleb, who whispered something to him as he high fived him. Suddenly Lucas looked much more confident, and Max couldn’t help but wonder what the other boy had said. 

“On the release.” The ref said, the boys around the key getting into a stance as he bounced Lucas the ball. 

He gingerly rested his foot on the ground, dribbling the ball three times, he seemed to meet Chance’s eyes as he went up, hesitating as he straightened out, the ball bouncing off the right side of the rim and straight into Chance’s hands, who immediately passed it back out. 

But it wasn’t to Jake, or even Caleb, it was _Lucas,_ side stepping out of his spot at the free throw line and right into an open shooting pocket. 

He went up, releasing the ball as if nothing was wrong with his ankle anymore, time seemed to slow, the ball swishing through the net right as the buzzer sounded, making the other team's coach go ballistic, snapping his clipboard over his knee. 

“Box. Out!” He screamed, his voice getting drowned out by the sound of all the Hawkins boys teams: Freshman, JV and Varsity, cheering as their team won their first game away from home, by their Captain himself. 

_______________________________________

Lucas fell asleep on Max’s shoulder the second the bus started it’s way home, and for once the boys didn’t say anything about it. 

He was slumped in the seat, his arms folded across his chest and his feet stretched out under Caleb’s chair in front of them. His ankle was wrapped, his pant leg of his jeans rolled up to his shin to reveal the tape under his tennis shoes. 

It wasn’t actually as bad as they’d thought, not even sprained, and with luck he’d be back to playing on Monday. He’d successfully walked from the locker room to the bus with no problem, so Max assumed he was already halfway there. 

The celebration hadn’t lasted very long, most of the boys tiring out on the dark bus only a few minutes after they’d gotten on the highway. JJ, Jake and Caleb had all fallen asleep slumped in different positions in their chairs, and Chance took the opportunity to take out his Walkman, since it was dark and had no one else to talk to, meaning Coach couldn’t tell him to interact with his team. He’d fallen asleep against the window only a few minutes after anyways. 

Somehow Caleb had managed to fit a blanket in his duffle bag, and now lay curled up in a ball, using his backpack as a pillow as he slept in the chair in front of them. 

Max leaned her head against Lucas’s, her fingers subconsciously tracing the soft skin on the palm of his hand and fingers as she stared down the aisle and out at the star-lit highway through the front bus window, where it was starting to snow. 

Other than the occasional street light it was almost pitch black, the headlights seeming to guide them further into darkness. 

Lucas’s breathing suddenly shifted, and he sat up, pulling his hand away from her to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. He looked around the bus, a mixture of confusion and sleepiness shining clearly in his eyes. 

“Hey.” She said quietly, moving to rest her now empty hand on her knee. 

“Hi.” Lucas said, stretching in a way that was the cutest thing ever considering he was a sixteen year old boy and not JJ’s little five year old brother. “We there yet?” 

“Close.” She whispered. “About ten minutes.” 

He nodded, shuffling closer and dropping his head on her shoulder one again, snuggling closer to her. 

She smiled without meaning to, her fingers brushing against the hair on the back of his neck before moving to the top of his head, the tight curls moving easily under her hand. 

“You gonna be awake enough to drive?” 

“Mhm.” He mumbled, not opening his eyes. 

The bus interior was suddenly bathed in golden light as it pulled off the highway and into the city, followed by a red glow of the stoplight at the end of the off-ramp, highlighting Jake’s sleeping profile under his team hoodie in the seat across from them. 

Chance sat up when the bus lurched forward at the green light, sleepily rubbing at his eyes and pulling his headphones off his ears, hanging them around his neck so the music coming through was almost loud enough for Max to recognize. 

“We there yet?” He asked groggily, his voice deep and heavy with sleep. 

“Pretty much.” She said. “We just got off the highway.” 

“Good.” He yawned, pulling his headphones over his head and stuffing them, music still on, into his backpack. 

Max nudged Lucas, who sat up without needing her to say anything, running a hand through his now partially messy hair as she leaned forward into the aisle, shaking Caleb from where he was buried under his red and gold Florida State University blanket. 

“Five more minutes.” He mumbled, pulling the blanket further over his shoulders.

“No. We’re back. Wake up.” 

“You’re not my mom.” Max rolled her eyes, standing up just enough to pull the blanket off of him, leaving him in his hoodie and basketball shorts, curled up in a ball so that he fit on the seat. 

He groaned, reaching into the empty air for his blanket without uncurling from his fetal position. 

“It’s cold.” He complained. 

“I’ll give you it back if you get up.” Max reasoned. 

“Fine.” He grumbled, sitting up. His hoodie fell off his head, his blonde curly hair now messy. 

“Give it.” He said, holding his hand out to take the blanket back from her. She tossed it at him, then leaned across the aisle to shake Jake awake, who luckily wasn’t as stubborn as Caleb. 

“We’re back?” He asked. Max nodded. His hair was now super wavy from being braided and then sweaty, pushed to the side once again. 

“Yep.” 

“K. Thanks.” He let out a yawn, sitting up in his chair almost immediately. “JJ?” He asked. 

“I’m up.” The older boy's voice came from the seat behind them, his voice just as heavy with sleep as Chance’s had been.

The bus pulled into the dark, mostly empty highschool parking lot, cutting through the very thin layer of snow now settling over the asphalt. 

“Make sure you clean up all your garbage.” Coach reminded them from the front of the bus. “Or the whole team runs ladders tomorrow at practice.” 

Everyone looked around their seats, grabbing any loose garbage and/or bottles they'd gotten from the concession stand. 

The lights turned on as soon as the bus had parked, the white flakes of snow starting to rest in their hair and on their jackets as they climbed off the bus. 

“See you later.” JJ said, yawning as he pulled his hood over his face, digging his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go, Jake.” 

They all split up, Caleb going with Chance as they all waved goodbye to each other, making their way to their respective cars. 

Max and Lucas climbed into the Sinclair’s station wagon, both tossing their bags into the backseat as they climbed in, the doors closing almost simultaneously. 

“How’s your ankle?” Max asked, pulling on her seatbelt. 

“Fine.” Lucas said, sounding sincere as he started the car. “Hurt more in the moment than anything to be honest.” 

“Good.” She said, nodding as he pulled on his own seatbelt and shifted into drive. 

“Did I freak you out?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the road. She glanced over at him, seeing his sly smirk spreading on his face. 

“Yeah, you jerk.” 

“I was fine.” He said, pulling out of the highschool onto the mostly empty main road. “I was kinda milking it.” 

“Well no _duh,_ obviously.” She laughed. 

“Oh, don’t pretend that you knew that!” He said accusingly, pointing a finger at her. “You were concerned.” 

“Yeah, I was concerned, but you absolutely _suck_ at acting.” 

“I do not!”

“You do so.” 

“No I don’t.” 

“Oh really?” Max challenged. “Remember that role play we had to do in Science last year?” 

“Max—”

“Pretty sure Einstein isn’t Australian.”

“You don’t know that!” 

“And I don’t think he had a pet ferret.” 

“Ok!” Lucas interjected, cutting her off. “Sheesh can you not go one car ride without humiliating me?” 

Max laughed, but didn’t object, allowing them to fall into silence for a little while longer, Lucas slowly but surely maneuvering the car toward his house. 

He felt Max’s hand slide over his where it rested on the center console, and he flipped it over, letting her lace her fingers through his. At first it was awkward, but Max slowly started to relax, her fingers softly brushing against his. 

Sometimes it was just a lot easier when Caleb wasn’t around. 

“Better?” She teased. He rolled his eyes, then nodded, flipping the turn signal and spinning the wheel with his freehand, pulling crookedly into his driveway. 

He shut the car off, looking over at her. “Have fun on the couch.” He teased. 

“Oh I will.” She said, lifting their hands up to point at him. “And I fully expect pancakes in the morning.” 

Lucas made a show of fake bowing. “As you wish my—” 

“Same rule applies to you as Caleb.” Lucas opened his mouth like he would say something, and Max raised her eyebrows in warning, daring him to test her. 

“Lady.” He said, quickly pulling his hand away from hers and shielding his head. When she didn’t try to hit him he peaked between his hands up at her. 

“It was punishment enough not getting to hold my hand anymore, so, your loss.” She said, pushing the passenger side door open and climbing out. Lucas shook his head, climbing out his side and jogging to catch up to her just enough to open the front door for her, because knowing his dad, he’d never let it go if he didn’t. 

His parents were sitting on the couch watching a movie, Erica probably already in bed or over at a friends house for the weekend. 

“Hey! How was the game?” His mom asked, his dad leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table, pausing the tv. 

His parents hadn’t been able to make it to this game, which he was honestly okay with, but they seemed more upset about it then he was. 

As if responding to the question he pulled up the leg of his jeans, showing them his wrapped ankle.

“Lucas.” His dad groaned. 

“He’s fine. He’s milking it. He made the game winning shot after he twisted it.” Max said, leaning against the back of the couch. 

“Game winning?” His mom said, sounding impressed. 

“Yeah!” He said, launching into the story of his purposefully missed free throw and pass from Chance, including how he’d hurt his ankle and how he’d insisted he stay in the game. 

Max admired how open Lucas could be with his parents, how easily he could talk to them, and by the time they’d all finished the conversation his story had led to, and they’d suggested the two of them go to bed, Max couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. 

She couldn’t talk to her mom about anything like boys or school or her friends. She couldn’t even ask her anything like borrowing money to go eat out or going to see El and Will without Neil hearing about it. Neither one really helped her when her grades were dropping, or asked her what was wrong after a bad day. All she had to do was walk into Lucas’s house and those two questions were almost the first thing Mrs Sinclair asked her.

She loved the Sinclairs, and she would _never_ want to take it away from Lucas and Erica, but she couldn’t help but selfishly think how unfair it was that her parents weren’t even together anymore. 

“I’ll go get you some blankets.” Lucas said, standing up from the couch and breaking her out of her thoughts. 

“Ok.” She said, only half listening. 

“You ok?” 

“Yeah fine just...tired.” Lucas hesitated, but after seemingly sensing she didn’t really want to talk about what was bothering her, disappeared up the carpeted stairs after his parents, leaving her alone with her thoughts again. 

She loved being in the Sinclair home, loved hanging out with Lucas and joking with Erica. She found it so easy to concentrate on her schoolwork without the constant pestering and drinking of a certain Neil standing over her shoulder, without the yelling of he and her mom arguing just in the bedroom over, about _her._

She found it easy to ask for help when she otherwise would’ve felt too stupid to, she found relief in just being able to expect that there’d be homemade food on the table instead of having to reheat the blob of spaghetti she’d attempted to make three days before. 

She was never alone here, never sitting by herself in her bedroom waiting for one of her parents to call her just to tell her that they were on another weekend trip, or for her mom to come home and comfort her after a terrible day. 

Max didn’t have to wait for her mom to come into her room and say goodnight to her or that she loved her, because Lucas’s mom did that instead. 

She’d already decided the Sinclair’s were her family, whether they liked it or not, because she wasn’t going to lose them. Wasn’t going to lose Lucas. 

She hadn’t realized her hands were shaking with anger until Lucas sat down beside her again.

“Hey.” He whispered. 

She took a shaky breath, her chest constricting painfully. She hadn’t even been upset until now. She’d gone to school, spent the rest of the day with her best friends far away from her house, and now, here she was, in her favorite place in the world, willing herself not to freak out over something as stupid as her mom not caring enough to ask if she was doing ok. 

“Max.” She wouldn’t look up. She squeezed her hands tightly together in her lap, biting her lip to force the words forming in the back of her throat from escaping. 

Lucas tried a different tactic, holding the pile of blankets in front of her face. She could just barely see her favorite red blanket in the middle, a pair of Lucas’ old sweatpants and a new hoodie folded on top of them. “I got you some clothes too.” He whispered gently. 

“Why are you like this?” She laughed bitterly. 

“What?” He asked, pulling back slightly like he was scared he offended her. 

“You’re always so nice and so caring and always thinking about other people and…” she shook her head, looking up at the darkened tv. “...and I come from a family of jerks.” 

“That’s what this is about?” 

“What else would it be about!” She burst, throwing her hands in the air. Her leg was shaking too quickly for her to control it. “Your family is so _perfect_ and I’m just invading it all because mine won’t even acknowledge my existence unless I’ve done something wrong.” 

“Max—”

“I was fine until now!” She said, turning towards him, panic shining clearly in her eyes. “What’s wrong with me?” The last four words came out in a choked whisper, forcing her to turn away as a single tear fell down her cheek. She hadn’t wanted to feel like this tonight, she’d wanted to go to sleep happy. Happy that she wasn’t at her own house, happy that the boys had won the game, happy that there was no school the next day, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that she was _scared._ She was scared of never finding somewhere she fit in enough for a family to care about her. Scared that her mom wouldn’t even be there for her the older she got. Lucas would eventually be gone, she hoped it wouldn’t happen soon but she knew more likely than not that eventually he’d disappear from her life. 

Almost immediately Lucas had set down the pile of blankets and was hugging her, cradling her head against him as she tried to even out her breathing. Almost immediately those terrible thoughts were disappearing, reminding her that he was still here. 

“I don’t know why it gets so hard all of the sudden—”

“Shhh I don’t need you to explain.” He said gently. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and she hated it everytime. “It’s ok.” 

“I keep panicking.” She admitted, holding tightly to the back of his hoodie. “More often than usual and I don’t know why.” 

“Sometimes it just happens. It doesn’t make it your fault.” 

“Like I said before. Why are you like this?” Lucas laughed, pulling away. She smiled up at him, rolling her eyes. 

“I’m sorry your house sucks.” He said. “But you’re not invading when you’re here. When my mom says she loves having you over that’s not just her being polite, she genuinely means it. In all honestly I think she’s kinda disappointed I turned out to be a boy instead of a girl when I was born.” 

Max actually laughed. “She’s not disappointed.” She said. “Trust me. She’s just as proud of you as I am.” 

Lucas smiled, rubbing her shoulder. “You’re proud of me?” 

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Not very many people get to watch their boyfriend make the opposing teams coach smash a clipboard over his knee.” Now it was Lucas’s turn to laugh, pulling her into another hug as he did so. This time she gratefully hugged him back, smiling into his sweatshirt. 

“Well, I’m glad to be your boyfriend.” Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t let herself acknowledge it. 

“Now we sound like Mike and El.” 

“Yeah ew, gross.” He said, jokingly pushing her away like he was in middle school, scared of getting cooties. “Goodnight loser.” 

“Right back at ya, nerd.” 

He pulled a face, then disappeared up the stairs once again, his bedroom door closing with a click. 

Max grabbed the sweatpants and hoodie off of the top of the pile, carrying them to the bathroom just down the hall.

She flipped on the light switch, bathing the bathroom in bright, white fluorescent light. She locked the door behind her, opening the top drawer and pulling out one of the disposable toothbrushes, still in its package, that Mrs Sinclair had decided to buy for her on unplanned overnights when she didn’t have any of her own stuff. 

She quickly brushed her teeth, then changed into the sweatpants. The fact that they had _ever_ fit Lucas amazed her, because he was _tall_ and they fit her almost perfectly. 

She peeled off her sweatshirt, her bare arms from her t-shirt immediately getting goosebumps from the sudden change of temperature. 

She picked up the sweatshirt Lucas had given her, smiling at the fact that he’d given her one with drawstrings, because he knew she liked those ones. It was sweet, but she had a different idea. 

She gathered the rest of her clothes along with the sweatshirt, staying in her t-shirt and tossing them onto the couch as she slowly pulled on her shoes. 

She opened the front door as quietly as possible, shivering as she slipped out into the still snowing front yard. She left the door open a crack, making her way over to Lucas’s car. 

When she opened the back door, she silently thanked Lucas that he hadn’t locked it, reaching across the backseat to grab her backpack. 

She rested it against her knee, unzipping it and digging through her endless supply of notebooks, loose leaf paper and binders until she found what she was looking for. 

She pulled the hoodie out, tossing her bag into the backseat and shutting the car door. 

Carefully jogging back up the driveway and slipping back inside, she locked the door behind her, flipping off the lights and leaving the living room lit by only the small lamp on the end table beside the couch and the dim hanging light in the kitchen. 

She shivered, pulling on the sweatshirt over her head and pulling off her shoes as she settled down into the couch, pulling the red blanket Lucas had given her over her shoulders and turning off the lamp. 

It didn’t take long for Max to fall asleep, in the comfort of the Sinclair's home and the camp hoodie Lucas had given her before tryouts around her shoulders, the name on the back reminding her that maybe she really did belong. 

_Sinclair_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to post! I’ve got two more weeks until the tri ends so I’m really trying to focus on school for the most part.  
> If you don’t know what black magic is, it’s a game where you “guess” objects determined by saying something that is the color black before the item, signaling to your friend what it is. (I probably just ruined the game for someone I’m sorry 😂)  
> I made up the Eagles I don’t know of any actual schools in Indiana, but the people there ARE based of off real people.  
> Max’s “panic attack” tho it was really small will have meaning later in the story. That’s why I put it in it’s not random, even though it kinda seems like it is.  
> Also if it wasn’t clear, the sweatshirt is the same one Lucas gave her in chapter 2...?
> 
> This really shouldn’t be 11,000 words I’m sorry.


	9. Why I haven’t been posting

Hey guys. Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. I just got to the last part of the trimester of school and had a ton of finals but aside from that, I haven’t really been able to find inspiration to write this story. I know what I want to do but I can’t figure out how to write it. I had an idea for a more dystopian type story that I’ve been able to have inspiration for so I might start posting that soon instead. I’ll finish this story eventually but right now I just can’t seem to find a rhythm. I’ll keep working on it and start posting the new story soon :)

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t wait to start this story! I think I’ll be updating once a week depending on how well I am with writing. This will not be as long as Judgement Day, I don’t wanna drag it out too long. Let me know what you think!  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


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